The Bet
by SanguisRubeus
Summary: Modern AU Katara made a bet with her ex that she could date without falling in love and Zuko just happened to be the one she collided into. As she enters his world, he lets his guard down and soon feelings start to grow that neither of them are ready for. Did she actually fall for him or was it just the bet? What happens when he finds out about the bet? Zutara. Rating may go up.
1. Corre

**Well hello there!  
**

**It's my first fic in this fandom and in this ship so I'm a bit nervous about how I did on this. **

**But before you start reading I want to clear a few things out about Zuko and Katara probably being very OOC. **

**Zuko is a very diverse character in the show as we all know and love him. He keeps lots of things to himself so I wanted to put him in a position where emotions run high so he could kind of explode yet keep things in. Also, he does not have a scar on his face mostly because since this is a modern AU, I doubt that Ozai could burn him on his face without possibly killing him since he's not an expert firebender in this fic. **

**Katara is not going to seem like the best person in this but that is going to change. She has to have a thick skin in dealing with the school and the people in this school that gossip about her. But she is still a good person, but, she makes bad decisions. I know she's the groups voice of reason but she's also very stubborn, bossy and wants to be right. I wanted to potray her like that because I can imagine her like that in a school setting.**

**Another thing is that Katara is the popular one and Zuko is the new guy. I know this has been over done time and time again but I really liked this idea and I wanted to see how I could make these guys come to life. I love Zutara especially when it's complicated and messy. These characters aren't perfect and I like them in all of their imperfections.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned A:TLA, Zutara would have been a thing.**

**The song I used for inspiration of this chapter is called **'Corre' **by **Jesse y Joy**. It's in Spanish but they have English translations of it.**

**So without further adieu, enjoy!**

* * *

**January 12 **

* * *

"It's over Zuko…"

His breath hitched as his head reeled around those words. He felt so many things at once but he wasn't sure if the upset feeling in his gut was from actually being hurt or from something else. Honestly Zuko shouldn't have been surprised that she was ending it, she was famous for doing this and it wasn't like he was such a catch for someone like her. Still, it felt horrible being rejected especially since he liked her so much and she was…well great. There was nothing he could really hate about her even though he wanted to at the moment. He could see her lips moving but he heard nothing of what she was telling him. It was all excuses and he knew it. He took in a very deep breath as he prepared to interrupt her.

"Katara, I know about the bet," He spoke softer than he wanted to.

Her expression changed from one of solemn to one of surprise which probably made it even worse on her part. She bit her lip as she tried to think of a way to explain herself and the bet. Maybe if she figured out a great way to talk about it then neither of them would be as hurt and things wouldn't be too odd between them. She knew it was wishing for way too much than what she really deserved as she did make a bet. She wanted to tell him that she regretted it and that she never expected her feelings to be- wait what feelings? Katara was kidding herself as she tried to fix her uniform, she didn't have feelings for him hence why she was breaking up with him. Plus she had already won the bet so there was no need for her to lead him on right?

She sighed, "I was hoping that you weren't going to find out. Let me guess, Sokka told you, didn't he?"

It was funny to Zuko how she admitted to the bet so willingly, like she really wanted him to despise her. It sent a pang to his chest and he was feeling emptier than he would normally feel. Apart of him wanted to just pinch himself to prove this wasn't a dream yet he resisted. He knew it was real, for once this wasn't some crazy nightmare or some lie Azula was telling him. Though the truth hurt, he clapped his hands to applaud her.

"No Toph told me but that doesn't matter right now. But I guess congratulations are in order then aren't they?" He forced the words out, "I mean wow. You really know how to play the heart don't you? You have such a poker face, I really think you should be an actress Katara, you have such raw talent for it. Hell, I'll even vouch for you when you apply to acting school."

Those words stung her more than they should have, Katara shouldn't have been affected by them like she was, she was the one who made the bet and lead him on for a time before right now. She probably was lucky that he was only insulting her, he could have yelled at her or beat up her brother or her friends. Speaking of her friends she couldn't believe Toph would tell him about the bet. It might have been right but…

She closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to look at him, "Zuko please- don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Don't lie and say this is hard on you because you are lying though your teeth. This is what you do Katara, you are so guarded that you would rather break up then actually try to work this out. You've done it before to Jet and Haru and probably Aang but he's also your friend but that doesn't change anything. You run away with your heart and before you, I ran away with mine too to keep it safe. But I guess you run faster than I did because I actually fell for you. Of course I was just a bet," Zuko had spoken but soon he began to chuckle, "Why would you want the broken nerd when you can probably get someone better? I get it, I was lucky to have you grace my life but now that it's out in the open, do us both a favor and leave me alone because I honestly don't think I could take another round with you."

Before Katara had even gotten some sort of rebuttal in, he was gone. They had decided to meet in one of the classrooms that no one really used after school. It was their meeting spot since the after school activities started thirty minutes after classes ended so they weren't going to get caught. Besides, no one really cared once the bell rang for school to end. She slumped in one of the chairs as she tried to get herself together. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she was going to be the one to leave the room first but now? Now she knew how her exes felt when she had left first and it didn't feel good. _But why?_ Why did she feel like this? She had never felt this way before when a relationship ended. What was so different with Zuko? He was right when he said he was broken as he had so many issues and the things that he had gone though not to mention him being so…geeky. She had scoffed when he called himself a nerd, please she knew nerds and Zuko wasn't one. Perhaps he was smart but he didn't usually apply himself due to his lack of patience.

Wait why was she thinking about him so much? When had he become a fixture in her thoughts? She didn't want to think about it and she definitely didn't want to think about him. She walked from the classroom to the track field and watched Aang practice for his short distance running and her brother Sokka in his long distance. Suki, Sokka's girlfriend, was practicing pole vaulting and then there was Toph with her shot put and soon the two girls were going to work on their discus and possibly their javelin while Sokka and Aang would practice hurdles.

Katara was going to going to get up and wait somewhere else when she whirled around only to find Yue, Sokka's ex but still a great friend, standing there looking startled and concerned. Katara knew why the other girl had shown up. Well, she was skipping practice and Yue was probably worried about her since she did know what Katara was planning on doing today. Instead of them sitting back down, the two were walking around the campus to locate a soda machine and possible a snack machine. The school should honest invest in more of these soda and snack machines, seriously, it really annoyed Katara that there were only two in the entire school.

"So it's over between you and Zuko?" Yue asked softly.

For being one of the most beautiful and popular girls in school Yue was such a nice girl with such a sweet personality. It was quite amazing how she could get along with Toph and Suki considering how those two were tough as nails. There was also the fact that Suki was dating Yue's ex boyfriend and the two could still talk and be friends. Perhaps Yue was just a way better person than Katara had ever hoped to be. Luckily they had found the machine so she didn't have to look at Yue while she answered her.

Katara nodded, "Yeah. He knew about the bet…Toph told him."

Again the damn bet bothered her more than it should have but try as she might, she couldn't seem to shake off that feeling. Yue had never liked the bet and hearing that Zuko had found out by one of Katara's own friends was enough for the white haired girl to withhold scolding. There was no since in making Katara feel bad about something that was already said and done, was there?

"I had a feeling this was going to happen. Toph had mentioned to me that she didn't think it was right for this to go one longer than planned but I didn't think she was going to tell him," Yue sighed and hugged herself as that January wind blew, "I feel bad for Zuko…after all that he went though only to find out the one thing that he thought was great turning out to be fake. That must have hurt. I'm sorry Katara, I love you like a sister but that was mean."

The other girl nodded, Yue had come to like Zuko once she had gotten to know him and the two bonded over a few things these past few months. Katara knew Yue was going to give her this lecture but she didn't mind it. Now that it was in that perspective, she felt even worse than she had before. Not only had she broken up with a boyfriend but all of them lost a friend. Zuko wouldn't want to hang out with them knowing that she was going to be there. She bit her lip to keep her from saying something mean to Yue. It wasn't the nice girl's fault that Katara had actually messed up badly.

Katara couldn't help but nod again, "As bad as the bet was. I really don't regret it, I mean, if it wasn't for the bet I would have never met Zuko. I don't regret ever meeting him and getting to know him and even being there for him when everything happened. Think about it, if none of us were there for him, then what would have happened to him?"

"You do have a point but does that justify what you did?" Yue asked her.

She thought about for a moment, "No…"

By the time they returned to their friends the practice was over just like they had thought it was. They shared their drinks and snacks with everyone and the group of friends just talked about everything. Everything but Zuko, that is. Everyone had basically known what had happened but no one said anything about him not being there. Katara was sure Toph was going to say something but if she wanted to, it was kept to herself and the Inuit was grateful for that. Sokka was a bit upset with his sister but, thanks to Suki, it really wasn't his place to tell her anything. Suki was just grateful that Toph hadn't said anything that could potentially end a friendship or begin a fight. Aang was the only one among them all who felt like there was something missing. It was obvious that Zuko wasn't here and with him gone, the group felt so empty. If anyone else had felt the same way, none of them dared to mention it.

Later that night while in bed, Zuko was staring at the ceiling while the sounds of his uncle's 'music night' snaked its way to his room. He was invited to join but he refused, not being in such a social mood after the events of earlier. After everything that had happened between then she was just going to up and end it. She wasn't even planning on telling him about the bet, if he hadn't mentioned it, she would have never owned up to it. She was planning on lying to him again. He closed his eyes and turned around in his bed, trying not to think about anything. He didn't want to think and he didn't want to feel anything, if he could just live his life numb to the world then he would be pretty damn happy. Yet with all of the wishing to not think, he still thought about things, about a life before Katara had wedged her way into his life.

_A life before Katara…_

_Life before everything happened…_

* * *

**August 28****th**** \- Six Months Earlier**

* * *

Zuko walked into this campus albeit rather tentatively, his Uncle Iroh had told him that a change of school was going to be the best thing for his dear nephew. Half heartedly he agreed only because he didn't want to think about his old school with his old friends and his sister…and his father. He shook his head, walking to the office to get his schedule; the golden eyed boy glanced at his schedule to look for his first class in hopes of not getting lost and seeming like some sort of idiot.

He sat in the back in all of his classes and, for the most part, everyone kept away from him like he wanted them too. He didn't want anyone near him or talking to him… Anyway it was just for the best that they all leave him alone, besides, he didn't mind being invisible. As long as his grades were up, who was going to give a shit about the new guy?

As abysmal as his school existence might seem to some, it did come with perks. Zuko knew all of the gossip that was going on. Not that he was into gossip but it was nice to not be the one everyone else was talking about for once. The things people would say in front of someone who didn't seem to care was shocking. Most of the gossip surrounded a girl named Katara. He had her for a few classes and from what he saw of her, he basically understood why she was usually in the center of all of the gossip.

Katara was one of the popular kids at this school along with her group of friends. Her older brother Sokka was in practically every sport in this school and he had a girlfriend named Suki who was also in a lot of sports. She had three other friends in the group named Aang, Toph and Yue. While Aang was very active in athletics, he was also in various clubs and a very social guy. Toph was practically a legend, even in his old school, she was blind but somehow she managed to be a few athletic groups as well as the wrestling team. She was definitely not the girl that he would want to mess with because he was sure that she could whoop him. Then there was Yue, now she was an interesting one, not only was she Sokka's ex girlfriend but she and Katara were on the school's dance team. Yue was captain and Katara was co-captain this year. Of course Katara was in other things but her main focus was dance for some reason that Zuko couldn't figure out.

So those guys were the popular ones in this school but them being popular wasn't usually the gossip. Katara had a reputation on her for being the school's heart breaker, Zuko was very skeptical about this because she looked like she would never hurt a fly nonetheless a boy's heart. According to the most recent rumor she had broken up with her on and off again boyfriend named Jet. Now Jet had the reputation of being the school's resident bad boy and bully so it was a wonder to Zuko how Katara kept ending it with the guy. One rumor was Katara had broken up with Jet because she had caught him with someone else. Another rumor was Katara had gotten scared because Jet told her that he loved her and dancer didn't like hearing that 'L' word. He didn't know which one was true but he didn't care, he just wanted to get his time here over and done with so he could leave for college and never look back.

* * *

**September 9****th**** –First Semster**

* * *

Meanwhile with Katara, this school year had started off as some sort of crazy circus. She had broken up with Jet for the umpteenth time and this time she wanted to make sure it was forever. She didn't want to get back with that guy. Besides, none of her friends liked him and they all had great reasons to because he really was an asshole and he only seemed to encourage her to do bad things. He was bad news and she knew it, she only kept going back with him because he was such a smooth talker. But she wasn't going to take his bullshit this time.

While she was changing into her uniform for dance, she could hear the other girls in the locker room talking about her but she paid no mind to them. They didn't know what was really going on anyway so it wasn't worth her time to worry about them talking. When they were practicing the routine, she found Jet in the room staring at her. He would always go to see her dance when he wanted to talk to her as much as she didn't want to waste more time on him, she knew that she had to talk to him eventually. So during the 30 minute break she made her way over to where he was.

"What do you want Jet?" She asked rather annoyed.

He put his hands up in a mock surrender, "Relax Katara, I just want to talk to you. I know it's over for good between us and I understand. You are just afraid to fall in love with anyone because if they leave you, you'll be crushed and you have way too much pride for that…"

Oh no. He didn't just say that...

"Seriously? No Jet, I'm not afraid to fall in love," She scoffed, "Maybe I haven't found the right person for that. Besides… no one falls in love in High School it's just a fact."

Jet opened his mouth to speak but if she had known that the words he was going to say next were going to change her life, she might not have ever agreed to it.

"Prove it," He told her.

She scoffed again, there was no way she was going to prove something like that to Jet. She didn't have time to play his silly little games and she should have left back to Yue but something kept her there with him.

"I bet you can't date someone and break it off without having any feelings in the end of it," the boy said raising an eyebrow at her, "Do you think you can prove me wrong? I mean, if you are right, then this will be easy money for you."

Katara should have said no, but the fact that Jet was winding her up was more than enough reason for her to prove this fool wrong. She wasn't going to let him win, she did have pride and she wasn't going to let Jet take it from her. Yes, this was very wrong for her to do and if anyone were to see her do this, they were going to be disappointed in her but she couldn't resist, she just had to win this. She had to prove Jet wrong.

She stood up taller and crossed her arms, "Fine. You're on. I can get anyone in three months or less. So who will it be?"

"The first boy you see after practice today. That's who," Jet said with a smile and with that they shook hands and he left.

The rest of practice ended without a hitch and though she had told Yue what was going on, she felt kind of excited for this. Yue warned her that this wasn't a great idea and this was going to come back to bite her if she wasn't careful but Katara didn't listen to her. Yue didn't have a boyfriend like Jet, sure Hann was a jerk compared to Sokka but if Yue was happy that guy then more power to her. Katara on the other hand, was going to make Jet regret the day he decided to make a bet with her. She had gotten dressed rather quickly and practically bolted after practice. (Mostly because if she took too long, Sokka would leave her at school and she would have to take the bus or walk home.) She was a tad bit busy at looking at the doors rather than anyone else around her when she collided with someone and was sent to the floor. She was about to tell this person off but when she saw that all of this person's things were scattered, she thought it was best to help them out. Even if Sokka would get mad for waiting she wasn't mean enough to leave someone without helping them.

Once all the books and things were gathered she was going to hand them to the person when suddenly her cobalt blue eyes met golden ones. She found herself getting lost in those eyes.

Zuko was running to meet his uncle in the front of the school when someone had crashed into him and all of his homework was now scattered. He didn't have time to start a fight so he gathered his things and when this person handed his things over to him, he was pretty shocked. Katara had crashed into him and here she was handing him back his things. He quickly muttered a thank you before he began to walk off again and then he felt a tug on his shirt.

"Wait," She said, "I-I want to make it up to you, you know for crashing into you. I'm sorry. Um…I think I have you in some classes but…what's your name?"

He turned around to answer her face to face, "It's Zuko… you don't need to tell me your name. I know who you are already."

Katara smiled at him sheepishly as she took out a pen and in the palm of his hand began to write, "I really want to make it up to you. But I am a bit rushed as my brother might leave me here. So call me or text whenever so I can make it up to you too for probably making you late. It's nice to meet you Zuko."

Once she finished writing she ran off. Zuko looked down at his palm and saw that she had given him her number. That was a bit odd. They had just crashed into each other, so why did she give him her number for? Once he had gotten home and by the encouragement of Iroh ("Why don't you send her one of those text messages? You never know what will come out of it," The older man said with a wink.) he saved the number to his phone and sent a message.

Katara was having a sleep over at Suki's along with Yue and Toph, who was dragged there by Katara, when her phone began to buzz. She looked down at her phone and saw she had a text message from a number she didn't recognize.

_/Hey…Zuko here/_

It was a very awkward message and she felt bad about what she was going to do. He was the first the guy she had seen and since she made the bet, she knew what was going to happen to this poor guy. _'Sorry Zuko_,' She thought, _'But I'm going to win this bet and you are going to help me.'_

_/Hi. How are you?/_

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**So what did you think? LET ME KNOW IN A REVIEW!**

**Again I'm sorry if the characters are a bit OOC. I will try harder to get their characters more solid like how they are in the show and the comics. If there are any horrible mistakes let me know. I tried to look over this but I'm a bit rushed since I have work in a few and I wanted to post this before work.**

**Anyway I hope you all liked this and have a great day guys!**

**With Love,**

**SanguisRubeus**


	2. Muevelo

**Hi guys! **

**Wow you guys** **are just great. I can't believe this story has 58 views! That's a lot of views for a first week and it's so great to know you guys are reading it. Whoever you all are that have view and are reading this: Thank you so much! You make me so happy, I would love to hear from you in the near future, even if it's anonymous, I still want to know what you all are thinking. **

**This is the longest chapter so far, I doubt it's going to stay like that but for now it's the longest chapter. Personally I'm glad how it came out but I wasn't expecting what I got. I had thought it was going to end the way it did, it wasn't how I had planned it but I think it fits better with the characters than what I was planning for it. **

**Okay I want to give a shout out to my reviewers! Thank you** lawliness**, **FineKindaGent**, **Anonymous** and **CherishRedemption **you guys just gave me the inspiration I needed. I also want to thank a few people who have followed/favored this story. Thank you **somerandomperson13**, **lawliness**, **FineKindaGent**, **Edlover23 **and **CherishRedemption**. I was so happy to know that you guys liked this so much to add it to your follows/favorites lists. **

Anonymous**: Who is the one behind the mask? I really do want to finish this fic. I was working on a fic before this one but then my Uncle Victor passed away and I couldn't write and try as I might I couldn't find something that made me want to write. So when I started watching this series again, I knew I wanted to do something with this fandom and ship. I plan on staying with this fic until the end, I just hope nothing stands in the way of doing so. I'm glad you want to see me finish this. I will remember your words when I ask why writing is worth it. You are worth me finishing something. Thank you so much for your words. I would have pm-ed you but you were anonymous so if you have an account please pm me so we can talk.  
**

somerandomperson13 **&amp; **Edlover23**: I want to hear from you. Your support is greatly appreciated. **

**Disclamer: I own the laptop I use to write...but that's all.**

**The song inspiration for this chapter is called** _'Muevelo' _**by **_Sofia Reyes ft. Wisin_**. Why the songs are in Spanish, I don't really get it myself but while I write the chapters, they just seem to work with what I'm trying to feel as I write. Anyway, I've spoken enough.**

**Enjoy~!**

* * *

**September 10****th**

* * *

"I can't believe you made a bet with Jet!" Suki exclaimed.

It was the morning after the sleepover and she was still making a big deal about the bet and about who Katara was going to use for the bet. She admitted that she didn't have a class with Zuko nor did she even know who he was. According to Toph, he was some new kid who was in eleventh grade with Sokka, Suki and Yue. The moment said girls learned that this guy was in their grade, the girls sent Katara looks and sighed loudly. Lucky for all of them Suki's father wasn't here to listen in and probably voicing his opinion. Saturday mornings at Suki's meant that breakfast was a must so everyone but Toph was helping out with making their breakfast.

Yue nodded at Suki while she was whisking the eggs together, "I warned her. I said, 'Katara, this is going to come back and bite you.' But is she listening to me? Nope."

"Wow," Toph said trying not to laugh too loud, "I never thought I would hear the day that Sugar Queen was going to get lectured."

The blind girl was right when she said that because Katara was usually the one doing the lecturing and most of that lecturing was aimed at her, Aang and Sokka. So it was a bit refreshing for Toph to hear the voice of reason getting lectured by two older voices of reason. Katara would have glared at Toph but it wasn't going to change anything Toph would have said. (There was also the reason that Toph couldn't see her glare at her but that was beside the point.) So she settled on keeping an eye on the oven as she was in charge of biscuits this morning. She was a bit conscious about the phone in her pocket but after briefly talking to Zuko last night, she hadn't gotten any messages from him this morning. He was probably asleep like Sokka and Aang.

So far the plan for their group was after the girls ate, they were going to wake up the boys and they were all going to head to the city to go shopping. Normally they would not usually do something like this as Katara, Sokka, Aang and Suki weren't made of money; but Yue had a credit card from her father and Toph's parents gave her money and a card to make up for the fact that they were out of town. They would usually take the blind girl with them but thanks to the girls, they managed to convince Mr. Bei Fong that Toph couldn't miss school so early in the year and she would stay with Yue until they got back. Of course they only said Yue because she was the rich one out of the three; actually Toph was going to stay with Katara for most of the time. This weekend was the first of three that the Bei Fongs weren't going to be here so they were going to make the most of it.

Once breakfast was ready and they were sitting down, all of them practically devoured their breakfast. The plan was to save some for the boys but Toph and Suki decided to not to be so nice to them so it was all practically gone. The talk about the bet was postponed for another time and Katara was very grateful for them giving her some mercy. Right now they were just having a great time being in each other's company.

"So what are we going to be doing in the city?" Yue asked, "I have a few ideas but what are yours?"

Katara smirked, "For sure Sokka's going to want to go shopping. I want to go look at a few places but I don't know if I'm going to buy anything."

"Definitely I want to go to the Jasmine Dragon," Suki said and when the others gave her looks she added, "It's a tea shop. The best tea shop in the city actually, my dad's friends go there to play Pai Sho and drink tea. Personally I think it would be a great place for us to go between shopping so we can relax before we hit the stores again."

The other three nodded in agreement. They were going to need something to perk them up when they go shopping with Sokka. He did like to spend hours at the stores and loved to make sure he got a good value on something he was going to buy. As silly as it was, everyone usually didn't mind that he did that. They were all going to crash on Sunday anyway so it wasn't like time was going to be wasted on his indecisive mind.

While they were all talking, about things, Sokka had sent a message to Suki telling her that he and Aang were up, dressed and already had breakfast. He also mentioned that he was going to head to town and for the girls to meet them there. Upon hearing what Sokka had told her, all of the girls agreed that he only left before them because he was excited to be going shopping. Of course Suki defended her man telling them that he worked so hard at his job so he earned his shopping trip. The response to that were the three other girls laughing but even Katara agreed with Suki. Sokka worked very hard at his job and he usually helped Gran-Gran with the bills so yes, her brother did earn his splurging this weekend.

So once they cleaned up and refreshed themselves, the girls piled into Suki's car and they all zoomed off to the city to catch up with Sokka. They already knew what store he was going to because he had been talking about it all week thus; none of them were surprised to see Sokka looking at antique weapons while Aang looked rather bored.

"Sokka what are you going to do with some antique boomerang?" Katara asked skeptically.

Her brother was into tribal weaponry and crazy inventions that would never work. Sokka was a boy of very simple pleasures and the fact that he and Suki were fond of weaponry only proved to the blue eyed girl that her brother had found his soul mate. The thought of her brother finding a soul mate reminded her of what Jet had told her earlier. Was it possible for someone to find who they were looking for in high school? Sure, her parents had done it but back then things were different. Love wasn't that simple anymore at least, due to her luck, it wasn't for her.

Sokka smiled brightly at her, "Put it on my wall of course! Don't you think it's going to look nice on my wall with my other ones?"

"I think they would look just fine," Toph said while she roughly patted Sokka on the back.

The boy nodded, "Why thank you Toph – hey!"

He frowned while the blind girl skipped off innocently while she pretended to look around. Aang, deciding it wouldn't be too nice to leave Toph roaming around an antique store, ran after her and even explained what things were and what they did. Suki and Yue were looking at some antique fans that Suki was using to demonstrate to the other girl just how they were used. So Katara was left with her brother and though he was extremely interested in the boomerang, he kept turning his head to her direction.

* * *

**With Zuko**

* * *

Zuko awoke in a cold sweat, sitting up in his bed for a brief moment; he looked at his clock and knew that he wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. He took his time getting ready that morning, he didn't have school and the shop didn't open for a few more hours so there wasn't a need to rush anything. Once he was actually dressed, he went downstairs to the kitchen and judging by the smell, his uncle was up and he was cooking something. When he entered the kitchen, he received a very warm greeting by his uncle to which he briefly responded a good morning as well.

Uncle Iroh's house was beautiful, it might not have been some mansion and it didn't need to be. Iroh had picked a lovely gated neighborhood to live and he had been living there for a few years. At first Zuko wondered why his uncle was living the way he did when he was sure the man had money; his father was practically rolling in it. If he really wanted to, he could have bought a bigger house or something but Iroh was a man who didn't like to live above his needs, he didn't need a big house or anything like his brother did, the most he had ever spent on some property was when he bought the space where his shop, The Jasmine Dragon, was. He wanted Zuko to learn that money may buy you many things, there was one thing it couldn't buy you, true happiness. Sure those with money are happy with their things but if they lost their things then what? Did that they lose value as a person because they lost their things? Iroh didn't think so. He believed a man's worth was based upon what he contributed to the world and he hoped that eventually Zuko was going to come to know this.

His nephew was a very quiet young man who usually kept people at a distance, even Iroh was still kept at arm's length it seemed, it was quite understandable considering who his father was. Iroh's brother Ozai was surely never going to receive the 'Best Father of The Year' award, especially after what he discovered over the summer. He knew there was more that Zuko wasn't telling him but he wasn't going to rush the boy, when he was ready to tell him, he would. But right now wasn't the time to ask, he had more important things to ask his nephew about.

"So did you have a nice talk with that young lady last night~?" He asked as he placed a plate of breakfast in front of the other.

Zuko's reaction was priceless, though he kept people at a distance, he had many expressions that just told Iroh everything. Like right now, he could tell his nephew was extremely embarrassed and he was going to just milk this for what it was worth.

The teen practically hid his face, "Uncle…"

He heard his uncle sighing contently and he knew, he just knew where this was going to lead but he couldn't move. It was kind of like a car accident, though it was a bad thing that happened, people still would slow down their car long enough to look at all of the damage. This was what Zuko's car accident and he was just waiting for it.

"When I was your age, if a lady wanted to speak to me she would either call a house phone or write me a letter," He said fondly, "In my youth I was a lady's man and I never planned to settle but your Aunt was just as persistent as I and she wouldn't settle for anyone else. She was a bright soul, I wish you would have met her Zuko, she would have loved you."

Zuko had never met his aunt, she had died before he was born but everyone that had knew her, even his father, spoke highly of her. He remembered his mother telling him stories of their adventures. The pictures his uncle had in his house of a beautiful woman laughing and smiling and being so affectionate with her husband. His favorite photo of his uncle and aunt was their wedding photo. Though she looked stunning what he liked the most was that his uncle had this smile on his as if he just married the most wonderful woman in the world.

"Even your cousin Lu Ten had the young ladies coming out of the woodwork it seemed with his handsome looks and charismatic personality," Iroh laughed, "Of course, I was beaming with pride. He was such a great young man…"

Lu Ten had been shot and killed when Zuko was eight that was one of the few days that would haunt the young man for the rest of his life. He had never seen his uncle so broken, though it was understandable. Lu Ten was roughly ten years older than him but he remembered the times when they would spend time together. Together the two would play pranks on the household staff, put on puppet shows for a young Azula back when she was nice and they would go to the movies because who doesn't like the movies? It was hard when Lu Ten died, not only did he lose a cousin but he also lost a best friend.

"I know it's been hard but I am so happy that you are making an effort and talking to a young lady, Lu Ten would be so proud of you," his uncle said with a melancholy smile gracing his face but then he blinked and stood up, "I need to go to the tea shop early, would you like to come with me or come in later?"

Zuko stood up, having already finished his breakfast, "I can get changed and go with you. There wasn't anything I was planning on doing anyway…"

"Are you sure you don't have plans with the young lady? A lady doesn't just give a boy her number for no reason~," He said giving his nephew a nudge and wiggling his eyebrows at him suggestively.

The boy froze mid walk and probably flushed, "Uncle please!"

Iroh laughed while Zuko ran up the stairs to get changed again. It was very nice to see his beloved nephew being a regular teenage boy for once. It gave him hope that maybe the young man was going to be okay after all.

It was fortunate that they didn't live to far from the tea shop though the city was usually full of people, Iroh managed to get them to the shop in no time. Albeit Zuko was rather mortified by the time they reached the shop due to his uncle's driving. Though Iroh was the owner, he believed in working the tea shop and personally training the employees. Zuko, over the summer, learned every position in the shop from making tea to working the software they used to make orders and charge people to helping his uncle balance the books and count the cash. Today he was going to be a server since the server scheduled today was sick. The day had been kind of slow until a little after midday a group came in. He went to give them the menus when he saw the people in the group.

He was face to face with Katara yet again and also her friends who ruled the school with her. He could tell she was just as shocked as he was but knowing his uncle was keeping an eye on him, he snapped out of it and handed the menus of various teas and snacks for them to look over and told them he was going to be right back. He hid in the back for five minutes or so to regain his composure before returning.

* * *

**The rest of the day**

* * *

"Suki and Yue told me about the bet you made," Sokka said finally after several glances between her and the boomerang.

Katara was a bit annoyed that she didn't even get the chance to tell her brother about it, her friends decided to do that job for her. As much as she wanted to be mad at them for it she knew that she wasn't going to be. They were looking out for her and probably nervous that she wasn't planning on telling her brother. She had a plan but it didn't seem like a good one, perhaps those two telling him was better than anything she could have come up with. Of course, she wasn't going to tell the other two that.

She crossed her arms, "I'm not going to back out of it, Jet would never leave me alone about it and I really want to make him regret betting with me."

That right there was why he was worried about this bet. Katara never made the best decisions in the heat of the moment but she was stubborn and once she had her mind set on something then it was going to stay like that until she got it done. According to Gran-Gran, his sister got that from their mother and their father agreed wholeheartedly on it. As much as he loved her drive, sometimes it caused her to do things that might not have been ideal.

"I know you won't and I know that stopping you is impossible," He began, "I just want you to be careful. Try not dating a psychopath, okay? I don't want to have the cops come to our house and tell us that some dude you broke up with killed you and made you a human sacrifice to the devil or something."

She laughed a little at what he said and he smiled back at her and soon they sort of hugged. She was glad that he was going to trust her on this. They spent more time shopping after her brother bought that boomerang of his. In some other stores, Toph almost bought some new clothes that Katara and the other girls thought looked good on her but she gave it one feel with her hands and threw it at someone. Yue bought a sun dress that she was going to wear to school since she always wore dresses, skirts and such. Suki had bought some hair accessories and Aang was looking into some music. So far Katara hadn't seen anything she had really liked but she wasn't too disappointed by it.

By the time it was actually time for them to go to The Jasmine Dragon, most of them needed that second wind by how exhausted they all where. The Jasmine Dragon was so beautiful in the inside and it was very surprising to them all. It was very clean and the decorations made it feel like you at home rather in a shop. The soft music playing was even soothing. They were all in their own little world when the server showed up with the menus. Katara looked up casually only to gasp up at him. Out of all of the people, the one person that she happened to see twice in two days was the guy that she was planning to use for the bet. Zuko seemed just as surprised as she was but he seemed to recover faster than she did as he began to explain the usual things and handed them the menus before leaving to give them some time.

"That server is the bet guy isn't he?" Toph said then explained, "I heard the way you gasped. Please tell me he's ugly."

Katara took a deep breath and tried to get herself together before he came back, she saw the way that Sokka was staring at her and she knew it was only a matter of time before he said something. Hopefully, it was before Zuko came back to get their order.

Sokka gave his sister a devious smirk, "Actually Toph he's pretty good looking if I do say so myself. He has very exotic golden eyes that just see right through you. I'm just shocked that she chose someone so pale, I'm sure he can glow in the dark."

Katara hit her brother while the rest of the group howled in laughter at the boy's playful antics. He might not like what his sister was doing but he was going to tease her about it every chance he got. His sister turned a bright red and Yue was patting her back in an act of comfort. Of course she and Suki were mouthing to each other how they failed to notice him at their school, with a face like that he was bound to get more girls looking at him.

When Zuko returned he noticed everyone but Toph looking at his nametag. Katara smiled sheepishly and gave him an apologetic smile. He wasn't sure how to really take this newfound attention and he felt a bit awkward with it. The only time he had ever had so much attention on him it was when he messed something up. Usually, everyone was paying attention to his sister instead of him but these people seemed to be very interested in him for some reason. He was kind of caught between wanting to know why and not wanting to know all at the same time.

"Did you guys need more time or…?" He asked.

Sokka leaned a bit closer to the other teen, "Actually, I don't really know much about tea. We've been out shopping all day and we all need to get some energy back in us before we hit the stores again. Do you have anything that can fill us up with some energy?"

It was a very good question and unfortunately Zuko did not know the answer to that question. His uncle might have been the tea expert but he had yet to share all of his tea secrets with his nephew. He was okay with it usually but when people asked him questions like this, it made him wish he knew. He glanced at the menu of teas before setting it back down again.

"My tea knowledge is a bit limited but I can ask the tea maker to make you something. He knows everything about tea and I'm sure he can make you something to give you some energy," Zuko answered, "While you wait for it would you care for some snacks? The fire flakes are on special but we also have some baked chips and some cream puffs that are on special today as well."

Sokka shrugged, "If we can get all three that would be great. I've never had fire flakes before and now I want to know what they taste like."

Zuko nodded, writing it all down before he left again to go ask his uncle about that tea. Upon hearing that the guests needed a tea to give them energy, Iroh made them a special blend of white tea to give them a subtle boost of energy. While Iroh was making the tea, his nephew was bringing the guests their snacks and was mildly entertained when Sokka tried a handful of fire flakes and turned very red. When the tea was ready, Iroh decided to bring the tea out himself and see the guests who asked for something specific, much to Zuko's chagrin. He was very surprised and pleased when he saw they were teenagers like his nephew was.

"I made you young ones a blend of tea that will lightly give you some extra energy for the rest of your day," He said as he poured them all cups.

The moment the tea touched everyone's lips they felt better already. Sokka had even gotten over his fire flakes and they all thanked the man for their tea and complimented his work on it. Upon receiving the compliment Iroh smiled with a since of pride.

"I am glad my tea is pleasing to you," He said and then as an afterthought, "I am Iroh, the owner of The Jasmine Dragon and a tea lover myself. I hope my nephew has been treating you all well?"

Once again everyone was shocked that not only was the guy that made the tea the freaking owner but that Zuko was his nephew but now thinking about it, Katara did see some sort of resemblance between the two but she had a feeling she probably shouldn't have mentioned it. She was right Iroh would have loved it and he would have probably said something that Zuko would get very embarrassed about.

"Oh your Zuko's uncle," Katara blurted out, "I was wondering…"

Iroh noticed she stole a glance at her nephew before she quieted down again and her friends began to snicker around her. He also saw his nephew shifting a bit awkwardly when she said his name. Suddenly it all clicked in his head and he smiled devilishly. He might have gotten his nephew this morning but that was nothing compared to what he was going to be doing next.

"You don't happen to be the young lady my nephew was texting last night do you?" Iroh asked.

Instantly he got the reactions he was looking for when she flushed a light pink and his nephew getting as stiff as a board. Her friends snickered louder around her. The blind girl was actually laughing and saying how she wasn't the only one who seemed to put two and two together. At least someone else had noticed. He was very happy that such a lovely young lady was talking to his nephew and judging by how Zuko was reacting, he hit the right spot.

Zuko did his best to keep his composure, "Uncle, _please…_"

"Yes I was," Katara said standing up from her chair to go shake his hand, "My name is Katara. The guy with the pony tail is my brother Sokka, then next to him is his girlfriend Suki, then our friends Yue, Aang and Toph."

Everyone smiled and waved and greeted being very polite and very energized. Even Toph was in better spirits then she usually was. It was kind of funny for them to be casually talking to the owner as if they had known him forever. He did make it rather easy considering how personable he was, not to mention how nice he was to them. They spoke and laughed a bit more until they were done and it was time to hit the shops once more. Yue had just taken out her card for them to pay when Iroh shook his head.

"Any friend of my nephew's gets tea on the house," Iroh said as he waved them off.

Katara noticed Zuko clearing things away and went over to him, "It was surprisingly great to see you again…"

"Yeah…" He said making sure he was busy and not looking at her, "Sorry about my uncle he's…a bit excitable."

She giggled a bit, "He's very nice and he gave us free tea. My brother Sokka loves the word free. Anyway, maybe another time, when you aren't working you could come shopping with us."

"Yeah, uh I would have to know a head of time so Uncle could schedule someone else that day," He responded and once again his golden eyes met her cobalt blue ones.

When Katara and her friends left, she was quiet. No one thought anything of it but she was thinking. Why did she get flustered in there? Why did talking to him make her heart beat a little faster then it usually did? She had never felt that way before, she really wanted to know why she was feeling these things for someone she hardly knew. Surprisingly, back at The Jasmine Dragon, Zuko was thinking the exact same thing. He couldn't seem to understand why seeing her kept doing that to him and neither did she.

* * *

**Thoughts? Questions? Tell me in a review!**

**I hope this chapter was enjoyable for you. I do want to explain that we are not going to be returning to January for a while meaning we are going to see how everything happens before the break up right up until before the break up and then we will probably skip the break up scene (since it's in chapter one) and move to the day after the break up. Of course that's all ahead of us all. I want to take my time in the months and use as many dates as possible within a month so we can see details we wouldn't have normally gotten to see. **

**Other than that, I want to thank you for reading this and I hope to hear from you all eventually.**

**I hope you have a great day!**

**With Love,**

**SanguisRubeus**


	3. Humanos A Marte

**Hello once again! **

**I am so pleased to announce that my little story has had 180 views! It's very exciting to see how many people are viewing/visiting the chapters. I'll admit I was kind of nervous but the reception for me has been making me rather excited to write more. I do wish I heard more from some of you out there whoever you are, it would be nice to see how you feel about this story so far. **

**Okay I want to say right now how sorry I am, but I did have to do some stereotypical high school stuff in this chapter but I did try to do it differently. I didn't want to use what I did but I needed Katara to take the initiative in her pursuit of Zuko and this was one of the logical ways I could make it happen. Again, I did try to change it up and make it different because why not have our favorite girls take the lead on this? Either way, I hope you all don't hate me for this and I wish that what else I have up my sleeve in further chapters will make it up to you. **

**I want to thank my lovely reviewers** lawliness**, **CherishRedemption** and **Lunachan90**. You guys are so nice and encouraging, I really hope I can hear from you three in this chapter to see what you think. I also want to thank **michpena89 **for following and favoring this story. I have yet to hear from you sir but I hope I do.**

**Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writting fics if I owned the show guys.**

**The song I used this time is called** _'Humanos A Marte' _(Humans to Mars) **by **_Chayanne_**. This song and his voice really worked for this chapter, if you like listening to songs that are not in the same language you speak, I suggest playing this song while you read. It really adds an extra dimention to the chapter, in my unprofessional opinion. I think the rest of the songs I use while I write will be in Spanish just so you can be prepared. **

**Please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**September 12****th**

* * *

Monday had arrived faster than anyone else had really wanted it to, even Zuko fought with his alarm before he decided he needed to get up. Though he wasn't excited to go to school, he wanted to go because maybe he might get to see Kata- he rolled his eyes at the thought. It was just because Uncle Iroh was there and she was being nice, though they did text yesterday but she probably has several people she texts. She's not a recluse like he was, he thought before he got a quick breakfast before his uncle took him to school.

"I promise we'll start looking into a car for you," Iroh said, "As soon as we have more time on our hands we can go look. Of course your first car shouldn't be anything too flashy but I'm not going to get my nephew an antique either."

Zuko nodded as he heard his uncle laugh a little at the odd little joke he had made. A car, a car would be nice for him to have, not that he was going to go joy riding but it could take him to school, bring him home, go to work and possibly if his uncle asked for anything then to go do that. The possibilities were practically endless. When he got to school, he noticed he still had time before class began so he went to the library to make sure he finished all of his homework that needed to be turned in today. He was good at math, science and even literature, it was history and writing that always seemed to give him problems. He couldn't get all of the details right or he would forget something very important. Then there was writing…damn writing class. Though he was correct grammatically, he just sucked at expressing himself. The teacher still passed but barely, he kept getting seventies in everything he turned in. He was re reading what he had written when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Thinking it was the librarian he turned around only to find Katara.

Katara and Sokka had come early to school today because they had morning practice. When practice ended, she still had a good hour or so before class started so she had changed, had breakfast and was went to the library to get some studying in when she saw Zuko. It was kind of odd that for someone that she hadn't seen before Friday, she kept finding him all over the place. She tapped his shoulder and when he turned around she smiled at him.

"We just keep bumping into each other all over the place aren't we?" She said before gesturing to the seat across from him, "May I sit there?"

He nodded before moving some of his stuff closer to his side so she could have enough room. She thanked him and sat down taking some math homework out and looking very confused. Though her parents met in a math class, she was horrible at math. Sokka was great when it came to math but Katara kind of got lost especially with this. She had out her graphing calculator to see if she got the right graph but it wasn't coming out like how it was supposed to. She made a face as she tried the problem again but it kept coming out the same way. Zuko had stopped reading his essay that he was sure was going to be a seventy and was watching Katara thoroughly amused at her frustration. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"What are you working on?" He asked trying to take an indirect approach.

He knew, due to his sister that some girls hated being asked if they needed help regardless that they actually needed help. Usually it was because of pride, he understood that because he had pride and something told him that Katara had it too. Looking away, Katara slid the paper to him so he could look at it. Zuko looked at the problem before realizing what was wrong, he withheld a chuckle and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and a pencil.

"Okay the reason that this graph isn't coming out the way that it's supposed to is because instead of solving for 'x' like you usually do, you're supposed to solve for 'y. It's a bit different," He explained.

Katara leaned closer and saw how he solved for 'y' and managed to get the graph. He showed her the teacher had showed them (thanks to the notes she was looking at) and then he showed her how he was taught, which was easier in his opinion. Then explained the other problems and before she knew it, she was done with her math homework and feeling very good about turning it in.

"Thanks," She said, putting her homework away, "How are you so great at math?"

He shrugged, "I always understood it, plus my Uncle Iroh is great at math. Also, my cousin Lu Ten would teach me this stuff when I was a kid so I wouldn't be too lost. Then at my previous school they taught us this in 9th grade since we were academically ahead of other schools."

Katara leaned on the desk trying not to have her mouth open. Okay, so his family is a math family for sure if his uncle and cousin liked math that much. Just wow. So Sokka wasn't as great at math like she had originally thought he was. She blinked a bit trying to get over being impressed with this guy when that school he was talking about came to mind.

"What school did you come from if you don't mind me asking?" She asked.

She could see the hesitation in his eyes before he looked away. Zuko knew that once he said the name of the school…well he was going to have to get over that wouldn't he? He sighed as he prepared to recite the name of the school.

He looked away briefly before saying, "Wan Shi Tong's Academy and University…"

"You went to Wan Shi Tong's?!" Katara whispered loudly, "Not just anybody goes there. Don't you have to have some sort of connection to get in there?"

He ran a hand though his hair awkwardly, "Well even if you have the connection they run a report of your parent's financials so they can make sure they can afford the tuition. Luckily my family had both. My Great-Grand Father Sozin was headmaster and my Grandfather Azulon was headmaster when my parents were enrolling me and my Father is in…business of sorts so with his financials and my family legacy my sister and I were students there."

Katara was caught somewhere between impressed and just freaking out. But there were a few things that made her question a few things. If he was enrolled at that school and his parents had money then why was he working in a tea shop? More importantly, why was he going to school here? It was very curious but before she really got to ask about those things the bell rang for them to go to class. She stood up and gathered her things like he was. She was leaving when she stopped and waiting for him. He lifted an eyebrow but did say anything as he noticed she was following him to class.

"I'm just curious to see what classes you have," She explained.

He nodded and then said, "Don't you have actual friends that you can walk with?" He asked.

Her eyes lingered on him after he had said that and suddenly he felt rather uncomfortable once again. When her eyes were upon him, he felt like she could see right through his façade and his mask. She always managed to make him feel so exposed even though they had only met face to face three times if he counted this time. He didn't know how to respond to his kind of gaze. His Father would look at him so critically and with such disdain that he always felt so worthless, Azula was the same way, and Uncle Iroh would look at him with such adoration (it was painful because his mother would look at him like that and it reminded him that she was gone). Then there was Katara and the way she looked at him as if he was some sort of puzzle that she was trying to solve.

"You might not consider yourself my friend but I want to be your friend," She told him.

He wanted to say something else when he realized that he was already at his classroom. So he said nothing else on the matter. He simply told her goodbye and entered his class. While he was in class he couldn't stop thinking about what she had said. She wanted to be his friend? Why? He wasn't a social person like her other friends so what made her so interested in him? He didn't really know how to respond when it came to her. Now it was making sense why she was pretty popular, she was very friendly and nice. She was nothing like the girls he had known in his previous school and she was definitely pure opposite of his sister. Zuko inwardly sighed while looking at the worksheet in front of him, now wasn't the time to think about his sister when he had a worksheet to get done before class ended.

Katara's classes were going rather smoothly and when it was time for lunch she met up with her friends at their usual place, the music room. Yue and Suki were attending a Student Council and would be meeting up with them a little bit later. Luckily for all of them, they had an hour for lunch unlike some schools that only gave thirty minutes or less. Katara didn't know what she would do if she only had a thirty minute lunch. It all seemed so fast, surely not enough time, to even enjoy lunch or even get some homework out of the way.

"So I saw you were walking with Zuko this morning," Sokka said as he lifted an eyebrow suspiciously.

Aang and Toph stopped what they were doing and leaned in closer to hear what was going on. Well, Toph was the one who really wanted to pay attention to what they were doing Aang on the other hand seemed to only be concerned. This was understandable because Aang, like everyone else, didn't like the idea of the bet and even thought it to be a bit cruel. He had tried to talk Katara out of it on Saturday but she was unmoving on the subject so he kind of refused to form an opinion other than the one he already had on it. It wasn't like he was going to stop being friends with Katara because she was doing this, he couldn't.

Katara made a face before explaining, "Well I went to the library to get my math homework done when I saw him sitting there so I sat next to him. He helped me with my homework and I learned about him a little bit. The school he went to before this one was Wan Shi Tong's…"

The boy's reactions were what she was expecting; Toph on the other hand simply shrugged it off. Before anyone asked a question, Yue and Suki practically ran in excitedly before they noticed the atmosphere and calmed down as they got closer.

"So what are we talking about?" Suki asked while she was getting out her lunch.

Sokka replied, "How that Zuko guy went to Wan Shi Tong's before he came here…"

Yue, like Toph kind of accepted it calmly while Suki on the other hand was spewing out random facts she knew about that school with Sokka. Aang sat there listening to the other two with wide eyes and suddenly that school was just as magical as Hogwarts was. Upon hearing those facts Yue and Toph shook their heads, it was odd for the both of them to be so in sync with one another as they were both so different. Katara watched them as they didn't say anything like the other two and finally she got the courage to ask them why they weren't saying much about the school.

"Wan Shi Tong's school is not all that it's cracked up to be," Yue said, "It's all very political and your parents only send you to that school for a reason. My father refused to even think about sending me to that school; it's not where you want to send your child unless there is something you wish to gain."

Toph nodded, "My parents didn't want to send me there either. They said only certian rich families sent their kids there. Kind of what Yue is talking about. You see the kids that go there, if they aren't like damn geniuses, are the kids of politicians, the freaking one percent or- hmm."

Katara was secretly hoping that Zuko came from a family of geniuses and nothing else. From what she had seen with his math skills it seemed like it but still. With this news, it made Zuko more of a mystery than what he already was to her. Just how rich was his family since obviously not just any extremely rich family (like Yue and Toph) went there. Was he the kid of a politician? She didn't follow politics so she couldn't be too sure but if he was then wouldn't have been dangerous for him to be working at his uncle's tea shop? She felt like there was more that they weren't telling her but she didn't want to press them. Sokka was sending her a look that practically screamed _just what the hell are you getting yourself into?_ But she ignored him.

"Anyway, why did you guys come in here very excited?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Suki practically jumped up in excitement, "Okay well it's not going to be officially announced until Friday but we are going to have a dance like we usually do but it's not like a normal dance."

"It's a Sadie Hawkins Dance!" Yue blurted out then sending Suki an apologetic look.

That was perfect and surprisingly convenient for Katara. It was what she needed if she was going to win the bet against her ex, the wheels in her head began to turn, thinking about what she could do to secure Zuko as her date. Luckily, she learned about the dance much earlier thanks to Suki and Yue. Aang on the other hand was very confused. He didn't understand why the girls were so excited and why Katara was reminding him of his friend Bumi. Though he didn't know exactly what her thoughts were, he did have an idea.

But first he had a question, "What's a Sadie Hawkins dance?"

"It's a dance where the girls ask the guys rather than just a regular dance where the guys ask the girls," Suki explained then turned her attention to her boyfriend, "So Sokka, do you want to go to the dance with me?"

Sokka pretended to get all chocked up and emotional while he was saying yes then hugging and kissing his girlfriend like he usually did. It was rather obvious that Yue was going to be asking Hann to the dance considering that he was her boyfriend. If Katara hadn't gotten herself into a bet, she probably would have asked Aang if he wanted to go with her. He loved to dance and the two of them danced amazingly with one another. Regardless if Zuko said no or yes, she was going to the dance and if Aang happened to be there then she was going to be dancing with him.

Toph sighed and stretched her limbs lazily, "Well, I'm not usually one to go to a dance but since it's the girls asking the guys, do you want to go Twinkle Toes? I don't really dance but I'm sure someone who can dance would dance with you."

Aang was virtually on cloud nine, though he was a popular guy, most girls usually saw him like their little brother rather than dating material. Even when he and Katara had dated (in middle school), they ended it rather quickly because they both only saw each other as friends. Still, he was kind of surprised that Toph had even asked him if he wanted to go to a dance. Since she was blind, dancing wasn't really something she did and then there were also all of the guys being too intimidated by her to even ask. It happened all of the time even when they were in middle school.

"I would be honored to go with you to the dance Toph. Even if you don't dance with me, at least all of us will be together and have a great time enjoying the company of one another. Plus, if the DJ is the same one that did the middle school dances then this is going to be pretty funny," He said happily.

* * *

**September 16****th**

* * *

All day Zuko had been hearing about this Sadie Hawkins dance and he wasn't too crazy about it. Mostly because he knew that no girl was planning on asking him. Not that he minded not being asked, on the contrary, he liked the fact that no one was asking him better than idea of someone asking him. The only girl that spoke to him in this entire school was Katara and he was sure that she wasn't going to be asking him. She probably had someone else she wanted to ask, like one of the jocks. Ever since Monday, the two had been meeting in the library in the morning. He would help her with her math homework if she had any questions and she actually helped him with an essay that he had gotten back and it was an eighty rather than his usual seventy. He knew his uncle was going to so happy about it and probably would want them to somehow celebrate this achievement.

He looked up at the clock and tapped his foot impatiently. It was his last class of the day and his uncle was going to pick him up so they could go to work the evening shift. He finished the majority of his homework during lunch and thankfully he wasn't working that Saturday so he could finish the rest of it when he woke up and would have the rest of the day to himself. He normally wasn't off on Saturdays so when he had noticed on Tuesday that his uncle gave him the day off he was rather excited about it. He did know what he was going to do but he would figure it out. The moment the bell rang, almost ran out of the classroom. If there was anything he missed about his previous school, it was how it wasn't over crowded unlike this school.

"Hey Zuko!"

He turned around and there was Katara practically weaving through the crowed like some pro. She was smiling at him like she usually was. He kind of liked her smile because it just seemed to light up everything around her. Hell, it even made him feel a bit lighter and it almost got him to smile back at her a few times but he usually stopped himself before he managed to actually smile. Anyway, Katara caught up to him as he was still trying to get toward the exit.

"I forgot to ask you earlier this morning what your plans were tonight?" She asked.

She wanted to ask him about his plans? Why? He was a bit skeptical but then again he remembered how earlier in the week she claimed she wanted to be his friend and friends ask about weekend plans right? So it wasn't weird or anything like that was it? Maybe he was over analyzing the situation; he did tend to do that often.

He replied, "Well I am going to be working at the tea shop with my uncle tonight until closing. Did you have some material on math that you wanted to go over?"

She faltered and even kind of looked hesitant. She shuffled a little uncomfortably as if she wanted to say something but something was holding her back for some reason. Wait. Why was her face getting pink? That didn't usually happen. Was she coming down with something? Was she hot? Why was he so concerned with how she was doing?! It wasn't like he knew her long enough to be very concerned with her well being. He had stopped walking. When did they stop walking and why were they outside of the school? When did all of this happen? Okay he probably needed to stop asking himself so many questions.

"You don't have to answer me right now but…" She looked away briefly before she gazed right into his eyes, "Do you want to go to the dance with me?"

He didn't even manage to react before she wished him good bye and tuned around. She had to be kidding wasn't she? Why was she asking him to the dance? They didn't even know each other for that long! He walked to his uncle's car and glared at the older man when he mentioned that he was a bit red in the face. He didn't want to talk to his uncle about this; he really didn't want to mention this to his uncle. What if-oh nevermind, here goes nothing.

He swallowed thickly, "Katara, the girl I text, she just asked me to that Sadie Hawkins dance…but she ran off before I could answer her."

He waited for his uncle to pick on him or tell him something that was going to get him even redder than what he already was but it never came. He wasn't used to not hearing some teasing from the man this was practically set up for the other to do so. While Iroh was quiet, he thought, did he want to go with her? They went home so Zuko could change in his uniform before they actually got to work. Before he made it up the stairs he finally heard something from the wiser of the two.

"You should go to this dance and have fun with kids your age. If the young lady asked you the way you said she did, then you were probably her first choice. A lady doesn't get like that with her second or third choice." Iroh had spoken with a matter-of-factly tone.

While Zuko was changing he thought about what his uncle had told him. He kept looking at his phone during various stages of undress and redress. When he was fixing his shoes he gave in and grabbed his phone. It would be easier to tell her this in a text rather than use his voice and try to make some sort of small talk. He typed out what he was going to say several times before he had an idea. She knew what the question was, the only thing she didn't know was the answer to what he was going to tell her. Apart of him wanted to know why his heart was beating out of his chest when he clicked the buttons to use. Once he made sure that he was certain of that, he sent it.

_/Yes./_

By the end of his shift that evening, he had plans to go with Katara and her friends so she could look at her dress. As her date, she wanted his opinion on it or at least that was what she had said. It was the first time that he was going to be hanging out with her outside of school. It was also the first time that he was going to be hanging out with her friends and possibly her brother as well. He didn't know how to really react with that. He did have a few classes with Sokka but it wasn't like they really spoke to one another so this was bound to be awkward.

Sleep overtook him before he over thought things more than what he already had. This night he had no bad dreams like all of the other nights, this night was different. This night, he dreamt about Katara dancing in the moonlight.

* * *

**Anything to proclaim about this chapter? TELL ME IN A REVIEW!  
**

**I just love writting for Iroh, he's so full of knowlege and I hope I'm doing him justice. **

**Again, I'm so sorry about putting a dance in here. I really didn't want to and then I thought, 'Well if I put a dance I can at least make it a Sadie Hawkins style dance.' I know those sort of dances are more casual (We only had homecomming and prom in my strict catholic high school), but I'm going to make it semi-formal because I want to. I feel like Yue and Suki would have said semi-formal because they would have wanted to dress up and dress their boyfriends up. I also tried to point out how stereotypical dances in high school are so that's why Katara is thinking just how convient it was. Either way, it's just for moving the plot along and getting Katara and Zuko closer together. We have a few more chapters until the dance, so it's not going to spring upon it too quickly. **

**I hope you all enjoy how I put Won Shi Tong in there but instead of a library we have an academy AND university. I know schools like that do exsist that's why I put it like that but I know it's not usually heard of. But still Yue and Toph did seem a bit odd about the school didn't they? Just know that I have plans for that school and in chapter four you will see why.**

**Have a great weekend everyone! I wish you all the best and I hope to hear from you!**

**With Love, **

**SanguisRubeus**


	4. Diez Mil Maneras

**Hello lovely people~!  
**

**I just want to say that you all are so great! This story has has 390 views! I'm so flabbergasted right now. I don't know if I'm doing something right or what but please those of you who read this please keep going. I love knowing you guys are looking at this and really seem to be reading this. Wow!**

**I wanted to post this some time before Valentine's Day because I know some of you out there are going to be busy (I work that day) therefore might not get to read this. So I did everything in my power to get this as ready for your reading pleasure. Remember when I said that chapter two was going to be the longest chapter? I LIED! It's this chapter and it started out with 12 paged but I felt like it had too much going on in one chapter so I moved an entire scene to chapter five but in replacement I extended the scene of them all shopping. At first it was just a brief summary of what happened with no dialog and it worked with what I was going for but one of my reviewers was so excited to see everyone interacting together so I rewrote the entire scene for this person. So **CherishRedemption** I hope you are very happy with this because it's for you. **

**Thank you **KMD88**, **CherishRedemption** and **Razfiny** for your reviews! You make me so happy. **

Razfiny**: Jet knows Katara found someone but if he hasn't seen Zuko yet, he will at the dance~**

**I also want to thank **KMD88**, **keppa4839**, **flyinglamb** and ** ** for adding this to their following/favorites lists. Thank you so much and please review I would love to hear from all of you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...sorry.**

**The song I used for this chapter is **'Diez Mil Maneras'** by **David Bisbal**. It's a beautiful sign and it makes me happy to hear it. I do personally recommend this song for you.**

**Anyway, without further delay, enjoy!**

* * *

**September 17****th**

* * *

If there was anything Zuko learned while going shopping with this group of people it was just how girls are so particular with their clothing. The dance was going to be semi formal and suddenly all of them needed to get clothes to dress up. He pretended to look at clothing with Sokka and Aang along with some guy named Hann. He wasn't too fond of this Hann guy and the guy didn't seem too keen with Sokka either. Needless to say it was a bit awkward between the guys and the only one who seemed to try to get all of them talking was Aang and he was having a very hard time in doing so. Finally once Hann began to go into the changing room and try on the several shirts and pants he with him, did the atmosphere around them calm down a bit and Sokka had decided that he wanted to try some clothes on as well.

"Do you think I'll look good in this orange color?" Aang asked the other once they were alone.

Zuko took one look at color and he shook his head swiftly. He had noticed that the boy liked the color orange and yellow but that shade was much too dark. Not that the older boy knew much about fashion but he knew enough to know that the dark almost yam and marmalade orange was not going to do the boy any justice nor his date for that matter. He looked over at what the girls were trying on and realized that Toph had a variety of colors and styles that she was trying on probably just for the hell of it. Suddenly that horrible orange didn't look as bad as he had originally thought it did.

He shifted awkwardly as if thinking something though before telling the younger boy, "Why don't you wait to see what color of dress your date chooses and then you can get a color to match?"

"Why didn't I think of that?!" Aang exclaimed, "You know a lot about these things. Have you been to one of these dances before? All the dances I went to were in middle school and they were usually casual."

He ran a hand though his hair as he thought about what he was going to say, "I can't say I've been to many dances in school since we didn't have them. We had a Cotillion ball I went to twice but I've been to enough semi-formal parties to know that you usually dress to match your date."

Aang was fascinated with what he was learning but before he could say anything, Sokka and Hann had returned and neither of them looked content with what they had tried on. So the four boys decided that watching the girls try things on would be better than anything else. When they had sat down where the girls were, they saw Yue helping Toph decide what she was going to try on next. Zuko could have sworn that Hann looked a bit annoyed that Yue wasn't trying anything on but if it really bothered him, he didn't say anything about it. There was something about that Hann guy that bothered him, he couldn't help but be reminded of the several men that he had grown up around, like Headmaster Zhao. Yue didn't seem like the right match for this boy but he could be wrong. Perhaps opposites attract, like his uncle and his aunt.

"Hey Yue! What's a Cotillion ball?" Aang asked and Zuko did everything to look inconspicuous.

It was at this time that Katara and Suki looked rather disappointed in not finding a dress and they had just gotten back to their friends in time to hear Aang ask his question. Yue opened her mouth to reply but she was beaten to the punch.

Toph answered her date, "It's a fancy party where rich people show their stuck-up debutante daughters to other rich people. All of the girls wear apparently white dresses and they have an escort probably chosen for them and they dance fancy dances."

Everyone basically stared at Toph not really expecting her to know much about that sort of thing. Zuko did think she pretty much had the whole affair rather spot on. He heard the white haired girl laugh awkwardly in response to what the black haired girl had said. That could only mean one thing…

"Also the girls are usually sixteen to like twenty one. I received my invitation to go this April and unfortunately, my escort is chosen by committee so Hann might not even get to take me," Yue explained before patting Toph's back, "Does your mother want you to go to one?"

Toph huffed, not withholding her annoyance in her voice, "My mother is on the committee. So naturally she wants me to go but I don't want to. Not to mention the thought of some guy who doesn't even know me, showing me off like some show dog? Eww…"

Zuko couldn't help but agree with the blind one, not because he didn't think she could go to one. He believed she could really pull off going to one but if she didn't want to then she didn't particularly need do. Of course, the girls he had escorted had wanted to be there except for the one he escorted last year. Mai was the only girl he had ever taken who really hated the entire thing with a passion. That was the most enjoyable night he could ever remember having with that ex-girlfriend of his. Suki gave Toph the dress to try on and Katara went with her younger friend to make sure she had the dress on right. While the two were away, Yue and Suki complained about not finding any dresses they at least thought looked great on them. Suki used the time to get comfortable with her boyfriend and kiss his cheeks which he returned with just as much enthusiasm.

"I LOVE IT!"

Everyone jumped in their seats as Toph emerged from the dressing room in a green plaid cheongsam with long sleeves. It was lucky that Toph was short because the slits began a little above her knees. It wasn't exactly semi-formal but the three girls were going to dress it up enough for no one to even question if she was semi-formal or not. Of course, none of them expected that Toph was going to find her dress first and for it to be a cheongsam but if she liked it then who were they to tell her otherwise? Once she bought the dress, they all went to another store to look around. While at the store, Aang found a nice dark green shirt that matched Toph's dress and some black slacks to wear it with. He might have gone a bit over board and bought some light brown suspenders and a mint bow tie.

"As long as I think you look good Twinkle Toes, it doesn't matter what anyone else is going to say," Toph reassured her friend which caused her friends to laugh.

Therefore, Zuko was very sure that Toph and Aang were going to stand out at the dance for sure since she was going to be in a cheongsam and her date was in suspenders and a bow tie. At first he thought it was very brave of Toph but then he realized that she let Aang dress the way he wanted to because she wanted him to have fun. It was rather sweet. A part of him wanted to make sure he took a picture of them so he could have proof when he told his uncle about it and for him to remember the moment.

"So Twinkle Toes told me in the car that you've been to the Cotillion thing a few times Sparky," Toph said as she punched his shoulder harder than she probably meant to… or not.

Zuko lifted an eyebrow at the new nickname he got but he figured to go along with it, "Yeah I went twice as an escort…"

"Is it as boring as I think it is?" She asked, feeling the bench they were sitting on.

He shrugged as he watched Katara gather a ton of dresses in her arms before going to the changing room, "It's pretty dull but I was fortunate to escort girls who I knew, that made it interesting."

"What did they do make it interesting?" She asked again.

He found himself shrugging before he remembered she wasn't going to see him do that, "Uh...their 'sparkling' personalities and wit?"

The two got very silent together and sooner than later, Yue came out beaming. The dress she had on was a rosewood color, strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline that hugged her body and reached a little above her knees. Hann didn't look too happy about his girlfriend wanting to wear that kind of dress but she didn't seem to care as she took it off and went to go pay for the dress. As soon as she bought the dress, Hann claimed that he needed to go write a paper for school and that he needed to take her home before he went to go do that. Everyone tried (and failed) to hide their annoyance at his claims but Yue told her goodbyes to her friends before the two were off. Toph and Aang then clued Zuko in on why the tension was up, afterward he made a mental note to never get in a relationship with some girl who was still friends with her ex boyfriend or vice versa.

Thirty more minutes passed before Suki found a teal dress that she looked stunning in. The dress was an infinity dresses that reached her knees. It was a good thing she knew how to use it because the boys (or Toph for that matter) could never even think of figuring out properly. Sokka couldn't seem to take his eyes off of his girlfriend which caused her to get flustered and before anyone else could notice, the two were kissing. Katara smiled happily at her friend but she was getting frustrated in not finding a dress yet, and it was a bit more noticeable as she kept taking handfuls of dresses in the fitting room with her. Suki, meanwhile, decided (since Sokka practically refused to take his hands off of her) that this dress was perfect. So she had gone back to change and then go buy the dress when Katara let out a sigh when she left the fitting room looking very disappointed.

"Sokka please can we go to one more store before we grab some dinner?" She said in the most pleading voice

It was kind of entertaining to see the two siblings with one another and see Sokka struggle with the needs of his stomach and wanting to get the dress search over and done with. Reluctantly, he sighed and they all went to another store. This time Suki was more available to help her out but still, none of the dresses were what Katara had wanted. She looked around the store when her eyes fell upon one she liked. It was a lilac off the shoulder lace dress, fitted to the natural waist, flared to the knee with a layer of white tulle underneath. Katara had never liked wearing the lighter side of colors but she really liked this dress so she took it with her into the fitting room and when she had it on she looked at herself.

She liked it, it fit her perfectly and when she showed the group all of them liked it, even Zuko couldn't seem to stop staring at her. This was it, this was the dress she was going to wear to the dance and when she took it off she was ready to buy it. That was when she looked at the price and her expression changed from one of happiness to one of disappointment. She couldn't afford it. She let out a groan as she walked back from the rack only to be stopped by Zuko.

"I thought you really liked the dress," He spoke.

She nodded, "I do but I can't afford the dress. Believe me, if I could, I would buy this in a heartbeat. But I can't so I have to look for another one."

She was going to put it back but Zuko didn't let her, not because he was tired of shopping (he was). It was because of her reaction to the dress, how lovely she looked in it and how happy she was when everyone liked it on her. It was the dress for her and he was going to make sure she had it, even though she was protesting against him buying it for her even when he got to the counter. Everyone had followed them to the counter wondering why Zuko had the dress and Katara was trying to talk him into not buying it. When the cashier said the amount, Sokka looked flabbergasted as did Suki and Aang but Zuko calmly handed her a card and told her to charge it all in there.

"Don't' worry about it," He told Katara as he watched the lady slide the card into the machine.

He bought her the dress with the card he had gotten from Uncle Iroh. It was a debt card to the account that his uncle had made for him. He never bought much of anything but his uncle made sure to put money in there for that unknown 'rainy day'. It might not have been one of those days and that didn't matter. With the amount that was in account when he had last checked, the cost of the dress was going to feel like losing a penny. He didn't tell her how much was in the account; it would have looked rather suspicious to her anyway, so he let her assume that he was spending the money he got from work. Technically she would have been right as he did deposit his check into that account every week and it did mix with the 'rainy day' money Iroh gave him every month.

Katara thanked him as he handed her the box with the dress inside it while they began to leave the store and on finally get some dinner. She could tell that everyone was relieved to finally be done with shopping for dresses, even she was happy that she finally found a dress so all she had to worry about now was finding the right accessories for it and that could come a bit later. Now they were all debating what to eat for dinner when someone, probably Toph, yelled out pizza and this was supported by Aang who liked the idea of having a vegetarian pizza. So they all went to the pest pizza place in town and somehow Katara and Zuko managed to sit next to each other much to the chagrin of Sokka. They were handed menus too look over after they had ordered drinks.

"I can cover for you if you want," Katara offered.

Zuko shook his head slightly while fighting off a smirk, "I can afford to cover myself. It's okay."

"You bought me a dress… at least allow me to make it up to you, along with me bumping into you. See? I owe you," She reasoned back with him.

He sighed, rather entertained that she was adamant on making things up to him, "You do realize these situations are usually reversed, right?"

It was awkward enough with Katara wanting to buy him dinner; he could only imagine what his uncle was going to tell him. He already saw the older man laughing away and saying how his nephew must like those progressive young ladies. It was different from what he was used to, when he was with Mai, he usually bought her things all of the time and she didn't seem stop him from doing so. In fact she had usually encouraged him to spend money on her since he was the only one, aside from herself, who bought her the things she had really wanted. Thus, it was very peculiar to him that Katara wanted to make things up to him, not wanting him to buy her things and offering to pay for his dinner. It was obvious that they were different from one another and they even had different ideals but he kind of liked that. It was, oh dare he say, refreshing?

Aang ordered a small vegetarian pizza for himself, Toph, Suki and Sokka ordered an extra large supreme (with extra meat) pizza to share along with two orders of cheese sticks to share with everyone. Zuko and Katara decided to share a medium deep dish extra pepperoni pizza. While everyone was waiting for their pizza, they all decided to make small talk with one another. Aang was telling everyone how he convinced the science teacher to go vegetarian with everyone was looking a bit skeptical. Katara noticed that Zuko was shaking his head as Aang was trying to convince him to be a vegetarian.

"I take it you aren't into strictly eating your greens," She nudged the boy next to her.

He replied, "I like meat. Not as much as your brother does, it seems but I don't think I could survive on rabbit food."

She laughed lightly when a thought occurred to her, she might have discovered away to make it up to him after all. It wasn't going to be much but since he was not letting her pay for their dinner, it was the only thing she could think up. Besides, he seemed to have fun hanging out with them so it could work right?

"Sokka's birthday is on Tuesday," She began, "My Gran-Gran is going all out since it's his 17th birthday. You should come and bring your uncle. Ever since I told her that I invited you to the dance, she's wanted to meet you and your Uncle Iroh. What do you say?"

He thought about it for a minute before nodding, "I'm sure my uncle would love to go and since your grandmother wants to meet me before the dance, it would be rude to say no."

She smiled at him, excited that he was going to go and since he seemed to get along with their little group so well, it was bound to be great. Zuko was surprised that she had even asked him, usually the sibling of the birthday boy (or girl) didn't get to invite anyone. It was probably so her grandmother could meet him but now he was thinking about what kind of gift to get Sokka. He didn't know him so well but from what he had heard of the guy talking to Aang and Hann, it was clear that he liked weaponry. His mind was already working on what to do when their pizza had arrived.

The pizza was amazing! Zuko was glad that Katara had convinced him to order the deep dish with her. He was only able to get a slice and half in before realizing that he couldn't eat anymore. Everyone else was finishing up when Suki's dad called her asking her to head home already. So after she pulled out her cash and kissing her boy friend, she left home. It was a good thing she had brought her own car or else things would have been a bit confusing.

After dinner, the first person to be dropped off was Aang. Apparently, Aang lived with a man named Gyatso who was his foster father. According to what Katara had texted Zuko, Gyatso was trying to adopt Aang but the legal fees to do so was a bit on the expensive side so it was going slower than what it normally would. When they had stopped at Aang's place, Zuko looked out the window and saw that it was a duplex. It was a very nice duplex but it was still a bit surprising to know that one of the popular kids lived in a duplex and had a foster father. Suddenly these people seemed less like the untouchable kids they seemed at school and looked more like the everyday person. If only it was like that at Won Shi Tong's…

The next person to be dropped off was Toph who lived in one of the more fancy sides of town, it was pretty far from his father's house but close enough to make Zuko a bit nervous. He kept his eye out for a red Porsche or a sleek black Lamborghini, either one was bad news. Neither of those cars passed by and he was okay with that. Toph's house was stunning, he had to admit that he liked how modern the massive house looked and now he was wondering why the Bei Fong's sent their daughter to public school. He didn't think about it too long as he figured it was none of his business. The last person in the car to be dropped off was him. It was a pretty awkward ride for the most part, mostly because no one was talking and Sokka didn't bother to make too much small talk with him.

"I'm glad you came with us," Katara said.

Honestly Zuko didn't really know how to respond. He knew what he would usually say wouldn't have been the best thing and he also knew what he had been raised to say wasn't him. Though he didn't know for sure, he had a feeling she would know if he was being robotic. He didn't want to take too much time on this because now Sokka was giving him a look and he didn't want to get in trouble with the guy while they were still in his car. He was sure could take the other teen on, but then they all might get in accident and he really wanted to make it home. Huh, since when had he been calling it home? He dare not say that to his uncle, the last thing he needed was his uncle getting on the emotional side.

He answered her (about time), "My uncle is finally glad I was out of the house for once…and I had a great time. Thank you for inviting me."

He had meant it for today and the dance that was going to be creeping up on them sooner rather than later. He noticed that she had turned around and he had resigned himself to looking outside the window. He didn't see Sokka giving her sister a look and he didn't see Katara sending a look right back at her brother. He wasn't paying attention to them or the silent conversation that the two seemed to be having in the driver's seat and shot gun. All he noticed were the buildings they passed and how everything looked so different at night. He didn't like the night time usually, he was a morning and day person though he was sure no one would believe him. There was something about the day that made it all so perfect, especially the morning. Seeing the sunrise was his favorite thing to do when he was kid and he still did so when he woke up early enough. Suddenly the car stopped and when he saw the gate he knew what to do. Zuko and his uncle lived in a nice gated community equipped with security guards at the entrances and exits. As the security guard got close to their car, Zuko rolled down the window.

"It's Zuko, Mr. Ibiki," He said calmly, "I'm just being dropped off by some friends."

Mr. Ibiki blinked before he nodded, "Yes! I remember your uncle told me that when I began my shift. Give me a moment so I can let you in. Are your friends going to stay with you guys or will they leave before the curfew?"

"They should be leaving before curfew but if anything comes up we'll let you know," he responded before rolling up the window and explaining to the siblings who were giving him looks, "This community has a curfew, unless there is a reason like a job or going to the hospital, the gates stay closed from 12 to 5. This community likes to pride itself on the safety of the residents."

Neither of them had said anything and Zuko just let the awkward silence fall among them once again. They had picked him up at the tea shop earlier that morning because he had been helping his uncle out with some reports. Iroh had offered them some free tea before letting them whisk his nephew away for the remainder of the day. So this was the first time the siblings had been to where he lived and needless to say, Katara was impressed though now she was curious. She knew Toph lived in a very rich neighborhood but this neighborhood was different. It might not have had the very fancy houses but it was still very upscale compared to her and Aang's places. Then there was that thing about security. Why would Zuko and his uncle make sure they lived in a very secure place? There really wasn't any reason she could think of. From what she had gathered about his uncle was that he was a very social guy and Zuko…well she didn't know too much. What she did realize was that he kept everyone, even his uncle, at a certain distance. Though she didn't know why he did that, she wanted figure out the mystery that was Zuko Arai (1). Why she wanted to solve him, she didn't know, technically, she shouldn't have cared so much. He was for her bet so why was she so interested in him? She heard him tell her brother where to stop but she honestly didn't pay attention until they parked and then did she look out her window.

It was a very lovely two story house that had a wrap-around porch, although it was nice, it was simple. Very simple and perhaps a little too simple, again from what she gathered about these two, they didn't seem like the simple type. Still, she kept her mouth shut and even got off the car with him to say hi to Iroh. The inside was also…normal looking. There were pictures of Iroh with people that she assumed to be family. There were a ton of pictures of an extremely handsome young man whom Katara found herself wishing she knew. Not because he was handsome but because of his eyes, they looked rather inviting and kind. Right next to that picture there was another picture but this one was of a much younger Iroh and a beautiful bride. They both looked so hopeful and optimistic of the future, it was actually very touching. Katara's parents had a picture like that. Next to that one was a handsome man and a gorgeous woman, they were a good looking couple but she couldn't help but wonder if there was something familiar about these two. She couldn't place it but she had seen some of the man's features and the lady's eyes before. Where? Someone coughed and she whisked around to see Zuko standing in the foyer. It looked like he wanted to tell her something but he couldn't seem to find the words to form a conversation.

"It seems that my uncle isn't home yet," He said, "If you want to try again another day you can. Just say you're here to see the Arai's and they'll let you in… I would invite you to stay more but your brother is waiting in the car."

She had forgotten about Sokka! With all of the things that were going on and her curiosity, she had forgotten her brother was still waiting for her in the car. Gosh she felt like an idiot right now for that mishap. She could feel her cheeks heating up as she awkwardly headed to the door with him; she knew what he was thinking. How could she forget her brother, impose on a guy and his uncle and then get lost in photos of people? She wanted to ask him about the young couple but she didn't get to because the moment she went outside, the look on Sokka's face told her to get in the car right then and there. So she told Zuko that she was going to see him on Monday and to have a great night, then she left and endured Sokka's scolding for the entire ride home.

"You are leading this guy on and it's not right. I know you want some bragging rights from Jet but still. There is too much of a mystery with this guy, you don't know things about him and he doesn't share," Sokka said, "Did you know that the entire time we were there with him hanging out and waiting for you girls he didn't get one single text message or a phone call or something…"

Katara rolled her eyes, "You are looking too much into this. So he didn't get any phone calls or texts. Neither did we, how is that so odd?"

"The only reason we didn't get any calls is because everyone we hang out with were with us. Who does Zuko talk to? Surely he has other friends because he's not in our group of friends. Think about it for a second. Do you ever see him with other people? What about his uncle? Why does he live with his uncle? What happened to his parents? Does he have siblings? How do you not know this?" He ranted at her.

She didn't answer him because she didn't have any answers for him. It was all a bit suspicious to her as well, she didn't want to say it because then Sokka would win. She could act as over critical as he was being right now and mention the fiasco that was his and Yue's relationship but it might have been hitting below the belt. She knew her brother was going to elaborate and say more things and she kind was not in the mood to hear it anymore.

"I see the way he looks at you and speaks to you," He said making a face, "I know he likes you, I can see it and I know because I used to do those things to Suki and Yue. Sure he's hiding things and I might not be too crazy about him but he doesn't deserve what you are planning on doing to him. He just bought you a dress; he doesn't know you and he bought you a dress. How do you explain that?"

Katara looked a bit winded before blinking back her initial reaction, "Sokka. He doesn't like me, not like that at least and he bought me the dress because he was being nice. That's all. You need to relax, okay? I think you are over reacting like you always do. Everything will work out the way I want it to."

Though she said that, her mind was thinking about other things. Was her brother right? Did Zuko have a thing for her and was that the reason he bought her the dress? She knew what she was doing was wrong and this guy was the one who was going to be hurt but…_she wanted to win_. But was this worth it all? Was winning what she really wanted or was there something else she wanted more than that? She frowned while she tried to figure out her solution. She plopped down on her bed and almost pulled out her phone and called Jet. She should have called Jet, she should have told him how her morality and her friends were making her feel and she should have told him she didn't want to hurt this guy who was becoming her friend. Instead, she just laid there while she thought of some solution to get what she wanted and keep Zuko around. Why she wanted him to fit into her world she didn't know, everything was moving too fast for her to even get what was going on.

She took a deep breath and did her best to relax before going to bed. She learned from experience that keeping things that bothered her inside were never a good thing. Eventually, she was going to have to talk about it sooner or later. She thought about her solution while she took a quick shower and changed and when she was resting on her bed did she figure out her solution. She recalled her phone had a voice record option and she decided that if she didn't want to tell others how she was feeling, she could let it all out in these recordings and she would feel better.

The moment she hit record, Katara let it all out, her want to beat Jet, not wanting to hurt Zuko and her brother telling her that Zuko liked her. When she got on the subject of Zuko, she had let out the flood gates of every single question she had on this guy, and the most important question of them all: why did she chose him? It was the one thing she couldn't understand and she desperately wanted to. She could have easily picked someone else as Jet wasn't around at that time she crashed into Zuko. No one would have known and she could have picked Aang and the two would have played pretend for three months and Jet would be none the wiser. So why with that option did she ever think that choosing this guy who went to Wan Shi Tong's? _Then Zuko wouldn't be around._ She liked talking to him and hanging around him because he was, dare she say, calming? He didn't seem like a calm person but she felt so calm around him for some reason. Did she want to fix him or something? She was known to have projects but he didn't seem like one of those either.

She frowned while she spoke to the phone and when she was done she felt better. So far it seemed like ranting into a phone was a great option for her. She didn't want to make a hobby of it but if it worked now it could come in handy later. She snuggled into her bed and closed her eyes. Luckily the next day was Sunday so she wasn't going to have to wake up early.

Meanwhile, Zuko wasn't tired though he knew he should be going to sleep soon. His head was still reeling over everything that had happened that day. He bought a girl he had only known for about two weeks or so a dress and she invited him to her brother's birthday party. The same brother who didn't seem to care what was going on. Sure Sokka was nice to him at the tea shop that one time but today the guy didn't say a word to him. It wasn't like he tried to make too much conversation and perhaps he should have but every time he opened his mouth about things he ended talking about his past and it wasn't safe for him to be doing that. Luckily Toph didn't seem like the gossiping type but Aang? He did tell Toph, about his times at Cotillion balls or will he tell anyone else? He told Katara about Won Shi Tong's but he didn't know if she had told her friends or not, if she did, they didn't ask him about it. He really needed to stick with what was rehearsed.

He took a deep breath as he made some calming chamomile tea and once it was done, mixed some honey into it and sat down at the table. That concoction usually helped him relax and he thought it worked miracles. His first night with his Uncle Iroh, the man had made him some chamomile tea with honey to relax him and the teen, afterword, fell into the deepest sleep only to wake up at two in the afternoon. He didn't want to wake up at two but he did want to get one of those deep sleeps again. While he nursed his cup, he heard the door open and his uncle enter the kitchen looking quite exhausted. He smiled at his nephew and joined him as he made himself some tea, like he usually did, before bed.

"How was your day out?" Iroh asked.

Zuko kept his eyes on his tea, "It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. I bought Katara her dress because she couldn't afford it, I hope you didn't mind."

He knew what the older man was going to say but he wanted to tell him just so he didn't get too surprised when he looked at the statement when it was available next month to view. Iroh, on the other hand, was very glad that his nephew was had a great time with his new friends. He had been alerted when the sub account had bought the dress as Zuko never spent that kind of amount in one go. Still he let it go through, knowing the teen was probably doing the young lady a solid in buying her the dress. He was a bit surprised that he told him this but he didn't dare voice it, he simply nodded.

"That is very kind of you to do such a thing. What color is her dress so we may get you a nice shirt to match it?" He inquired and smiled inwardly when he saw the boy falter a little bit.

Zuko quietly responded, "Its lilac with a white under thing underneath it that is longer than the top part of it…"

"I see. Well since she has something white on her dress I recommend we get you some beige slacks and probably a matching vest as it would go with a lilac shirt. We could even get you a nice violet and lavender tie. If that doesn't appeal to you, maybe we can get you a plain violet tie or a plain lavender tie, your choice," Iroh said while sipping his tea.

The teen made a face, "Do I have to wear a tie and a vest? I know it's semi-formal but is that all necessary? Can't I pull off the beige pants, the shirt and possibly not the tie? Or if I have to get the tie can I not get the vest?"

Iroh thought about it for a moment, it could work but a part of him thought that would look too casual. Oh they would cross this bridge when they got to it, meaning that one way or another he was going to get his nephew into a vest or a tie. Maybe instead of a beige vest he could use a violet one? Or maybe he could be in a nice lavender button up with a nice lilac tie? All he knew was the shade of purple they were using was bound to bring out his nephew's golden eyes and that would really attract Katara to his nephew. He vaguely heard said teen talk about being invited to birthday party that was when he focused his attention back on him.

"…it's Tuesday. All I know is that her grandmother wants to meet me, us, before we went to this dance. I know her brother is into weaponry but I don't know what to get him. It is a party and you always say it's rude to show up without a gift right?" He asked.

The older man nodded, "I can talk to my friend Piandao to see if maybe he has an extra display sword we can buy from him. If this kid likes these sorts of things, he might want one of those in his room or something. Well, I'm going to bed now nephew. We have a lot of work at the shop to do tomorrow so we can clear time for the party this Tuesday."

Zuko wished his uncle a good night before finishing his tea and heading to bathroom to take a shower. Once he was ready for bed, he just lied there for the longest time with those troubling thoughts. He didn't tell his uncle what he had told them, he should have brought it up so they could alter their cover story but he didn't. Maybe tomorrow after work they could talk about it? He tried telling himself that there was no way any of them had some sort of connection that would lead to his father hearing about him but he could never be too sure. He had been away from that life since June and he was getting used to living a mundane existence. Sure at first he was a bit skeptical, but now he was getting comfortable. This all still felt like some sort of dream though four months had already passed and hopefully more would pass. Yet with all of this evidence that said they were in the clear he couldn't help but wonder.

Would _The Family_ manage to find him and bring him back to his pitiful existence?

He felt a shiver go down his spine at the mere thought of it.

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**What is _The Family_? Why do they need some cover story? Is Sokka right? What about Katara and those people in the photos? Well there is only one way to find out. Stay tuned.  
**

**Also please review, it makes me feel so happy and if you have any questions I will be more than happy to respond to you.**

**1: I gave Zuko the last name Arai because I like the way it makes his name sound. Now is that his real last name or just a fake one? Hmm I wonder. **

**On the last names, I learned something about Inuit last names - they didn't have last names at first which is kind of interesting. So trying to find a last name for Katara and Sokka has been hard! I mean I found one I liked but if anyone wants to recommend anyone to me please let me know. I do need some for Yue, Hann, Aang and Suki because I haven't had time to look but I know I need some for what I want to do. Please let me know if you have names either by pm or review. **

**I hope you all liked this chapter and I hope you are all ready for what I have planned and I can't wait for you all to see what chapter five is all about. Thank you all so much for your support and reading this story and please keep reading. Have a great day! Have a Happy Valentine's Day! (I don't have anyone special but my cat will appreciate it!) See you all next chapter!**

**With Love,**

**SanguisRubeus**


	5. Carnaval

**Hi! **

**I know I'm cutting it rather close this week by updating so late! I had a busy week after I updated and I'm so sorry for making you all wait. I'm also running on not sleeping right for two days so if something is off, let me know.**

**Now this chapter is interesting, you get more questions than you do answers but you also get some insight on a few other things and it's also beginning to set up everything for the later chapters. I know that some of you are wondering where I am going with this, because I would ask myself the same question, all I ask is for patients. I actually re wrote this chapter from what I previously had. If you recalled, I said in the last chapter I had taken the original ending for that and moved it to this chapter. Well, I had that but then I deleted it because it practically gave away one of the main plots and since we are following a timeline within the spectrum of Zuko and Katara, I decided to reveal that sub plot when they find out. Also there were a few kinks in that sub plot I had to work out so, that will be for later. –Evil laugh- **

**Although on a bright side this story is up to 558 views so far! That's so shocking to me. I can't believe it. I could faint. **

**But before I do that, I want to thank **CherishRedemption**, **lawliness** and **Lunachan90** for their wonderful reviews! It's so encouraging and it really gets me so pumped up! I also want to thank **Kslamm**, **Lunachan90**, **LeFlyingMongoose**, **meganalaniz96** and **timeki11er** for putting this fic on your following/favorites list. I really appreciate it and I hope to hear from you all soon.**

**The song for this chapter is called **'Carnaval' **by **Maluma**. It's a lovely song and it's simply great. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own this…**

**Read on guys~**

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**September 18****th**

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The sun hadn't even woken when Iroh opened his eyes that morning. He didn't get that many hours of sleep but he was okay with that, he pulled out his phone and made some calls prior to getting dressed. Before he left the upstairs he decided to check on his nephew. Once he opened the door, his eyes were on the sleeping teen that was lost in the dreams his mind had created. A smile graced the man's face and he shut the door. Heading into the kitchen he debated on leaving a note to his nephew only to decide not to and soon left the house. He drove to his tea shop and made a brew before cleaning a few of the Pai Sho tables. He heard three knocks on the front door. Figuring who that might be, he opened the door just a crack.

"Who knocks at the garden gate?" He asked.

A voice responded, "Those who have eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."

Iroh smiled and opened the door to reveal several men around his age and graciously let them all into the shop before closing the door again. After the formalities were exchanged, they all sat down at the Pai Sho table. The men were all very different from one another but they all had one thing in common: their desire for justice when the law only went so far.

"Thank you Pakku, Piandao, Jeong Jeong and Bumi for stopping by today," He said softly, keeping an eye on the men before him, "Has there been any news on _The Family_?"

The men before him all looked a bit uncomfortable the moment the words the phrase was uttered. All of them had met due a connection they all had with _The Family_ though it was different reasons why they were involved in the first place. Of course, Iroh's connections ran deeper than anyone else's but no one blamed the man for that. At the moment Iroh was doing his best at his best at making sure his nephew was safe from _The Family_ at all costs. He knew the leader of _The Family_ would never dare confront the Grand Master of the White Lotus directly since there was no proof he had taken Zuko in the first place. Still when it came to the young man, he knew that if Zuko was ever going to be free from the grasp of _The Family_, certain things had to come into place.

Jeong Jeong replied, "I have three agents who went undercover a few days after the incident and so far _The Father_ hasn't announced anything on the matter therefore your nephew is safe for now. In my personal opinion, _The Father_ is biding his time for the right moment until he strikes and once he does we all best be prepared. "

"If anything was to happen to you Iroh or if we suspect _The Family _is getting too close for our liking, The Bei-Fong Family has agreed to let us use The Compound to keep your nephew safe. They know how essential it is to keep him away from _The Family_ and they guarantee that The Compound is the safest place in the world for anyone who needs to hide," Bumi said, "There is also my dear friend Gyatso who knows a few nomadic people but I suspected you wanted to have Zuko still here in the city."

Piandao cleared his throat, "If none of those ideas do it for you, there is also my place. He would be perfectly safe there and thanks to the security the Bei-Fong's have provided for me, I can keep him safe for sure. "

"Another member of the white lotus and a friend of mine, Yagoda works at a mental hospital," Pakku began, "If your nephew can play loony then we can place him there and that way no one could get to him."

Iroh nodded kindly while thinking The Compound sounded like a better place in comparison to the mental hospital. Still both places could work in theory but he wasn't sure if he had the heart to attempt to convince his nephew to pretend to be out of it. It was time to move the conversation around to more interesting things and for him not to think about his nephew's mental state. He did make sure to mention that whatever he decided out of those options, he was giving Piandao the power to in act them all if or when anything happened to him.

So far when it came to the important things he knew _The Family_ has yet to do anything about getting his nephew but they could be waiting. Out of anything, they needed some sort of back plan for when the plans crumbled. Oh yes, Iroh was going to have several things to consider before the day was over. Soon the men were gone and he closed his shop once more before picking up some breakfast and heading back to his house.

Just as he suspected, his nephew was still sleeping soundly. The Jasmine Dragon was closed to the public on Sundays but Iroh would usually spend the majority of the day there doing inventory, placing orders, counting the money, preparing the employee checks, and getting the bank statements together before going to the bank on Monday. It was a very busy day for the man but he was lucky to have a nephew who was so helpful on days like that. Soon he heard his nephew's foot falls and soon the young man emerged from his room dressed.

"Good morning Nephew," He greeted, "How did you rest from your exciting day?"

Zuko grunted in response and then noticed the bags on the table, "You got breakfast?"

He wouldn't answer about resting but he would ask about breakfast and it entertained the man greatly. It reminded him of his son Lu Ten who always seemed to be interested in food no matter what time it was. He gestured to the bag he had gotten for his nephew and watched as the teen slowly walked to the bag and got the food out and stared at it for a while before eating the breakfast. It wasn't long into Zuko slowly tearing into his food before his phone began to buzz. He frowned until he looked at the message and a small smile formed on his face. Instantly Iroh knew it was Miss Katara who was sending him things. It was very sweet to see the boy he had been around since he was small suddenly growing up and taking interest in a young lady. _If only Ursa was here to see this… She would have loved this._ Though his sister in law was much younger than him, before she had disappeared, the two were rather close and very friendly with one another. She had come from a middle class family from what he remembered and became a dear friend and confidant to his deceased wife.

Although she was no longer there, he could see that Ursa had left her mark on her son by the little things he would do and say. Then there was his eyes, those eyes of his were just like Ursa's as well as his smile. Other than those two key differences, he looked just like his father, Iroh suddenly didn't want to think about his brother but his mind had other plans. His brother…he loved the brother he had grown up with but hated the man that his little brother had become. Ozai was…eccentric to say the least, he was also very handsome. Though, in Iroh's personal opinion, he thought Zuko looked much more handsome than Ozai did in his prime due to a few key differences the two had in personality. Then there was Azula who looked exactly like her mother except she had her father's eyes as well as his sly smile. For sure Ozai had left his mark on his youngest daughter and that made him sick to his stomach. Zuko and Azula, though it was easy to know they were related, were so different from one another. He could only imagine what things would be like if Ozai had favored his son as much as he favored his daughter…

"Uncle?"

Iroh blinked and soon he was looking at the young man who was staring at him warily. He must have let his mind escape him. He shook his head and smiled as brightly as he could muster before finishing off his breakfast.

"Are we going to The Jasmine Dragon?" Zuko asked.

Iroh nodded, "That's the plan and after we are done, Piandao invited us over to look for a gift for that young man we are visiting. Unless you have plans with the young lady once again...?"

He watched his nephew go from his normal demeanor to having his elbow on the table and using that hand to help hide his face from his uncle. Why his nephew made it so easy for him to tease him he wasn't sure but he was going to milk it for what it's worth for sure.

"Uncle…" the teen began.

The older man laughed deviously, "You know she is a very lovely young lady and I am sure she will look absolutely stunning in the dress you bought her. But perhaps you aren't interested in what she had on rather-"

"UNCLE! Please just-no," Zuko sputtered as his face was suddenly redder than it had ever been.

Iroh kept chuckling as his nephew cleaned his area and began to get ready to go to the tea shop. He noticed that he was still sending what he figured were messages to Miss Katara and it just made him well up with pride. A part of him knew even though Zuko was just as handsome as Lu Ten, he wasn't as suave as his the older boy had been. When it came to the ladies, Lu Ten knew how to make them swoon but Zuko was such an awkward young man it a little painful yet hilarious trying to see him make a move on a young lady. What surprised the older man the most was how patient the young lady was with his nephew. Other ladies wouldn't have been so patient and probably pushing to get into some relationship or at least for him to open up about things he wasn't okay with talking about yet.

But Miss Katara was so different from that and it made him feel very comfortable in letting his nephew talk to such a nice girl. He let the topic drop but while they were working, he could tell his beloved nephew was doing that texting thing the kids were doing and he knew he was texting Miss Katara. Apart of him wanted to invite the young lady and their friends over for some tea and probably a nice game of Pai Sho but he stopped himself. He didn't want this nephew to think he was being pushy. Besides, Zuko responded best to light guidance rather than being forceful and pushy.

Zuko, while working, had been lightly distracted by texting Katara that he had counted the same merchandise three times before realizing what he had done. In the same hour, he ordered the inventory wrong and a few other things that on a normal day wouldn't go past him. But he was talking to Katara and she was fun to talk to and learn about her day. Today she had to clean the house while Sokka was at work. Currently, Aang and Toph had come to visit and she kept telling him how odd it was for those two to even be hanging out. She suspected they liked each other but Zuko was little doubtful, they might just be really close friends? Oh he didn't know. He wanted to ask something but held himself back until he gave into the thoughts.

_/What are your plans later?/_

He was about to start counting the cash once more when his phone buzzed loudly on the desk. He could tell his uncle was pretending not to hear it and he was very grateful for that. He looked down at the message and began to read.

_/Oh not much. Sokka wants to go play video games at Suki's I'll probably be with Toph and Aang for the rest of the day. What about you? /_

That all made sense considering that Sokka and Suki loved to play video games (Suki had told him yesterday they had met at a gaming competition where she whooped him.) and since Toph and Aang were over it would only be natural for her to want to spend the rest of her day with them. He did kind of wish that she had said nothing so he could have invited her over, though technically he still could but he wasn't sure if his uncle would be okay with it. Plus, they did technically have plans of their own didn't they? He quickly typed out his response and sent it out.

_/Once we are done here, I think we are going to see one of my former instructor and my uncle's close friend. He has a lot of weapons for decoration and I thought one of the ones he had and doesn't use would be a great gift for your brother./_

There was a long wait until she replied back, it was such a long wait that Zuko managed to count the cash and print out the checks for the other employees before he heard the phone buzzing on his desk.

_/You really don't have to get him anything. Sokka is going to be excited by all of the meat we are preparing for him, so a gift isn't necessary. But that is so nice of you and a weapon for that matter! Sokka will be so happy he might just kiss you. LOL /_

Zuko cringed at the thought of being kissed by her brother but he didn't deny that it could happen. Sokka did seem like the kind of guy who was more in touch with his emotions than most guys dared to even admit. As odd as it was when they first met, Zuko thought it was rather refreshing, though Sokka loved shopping and doing many things other things that weren't manly, he was still a man's man. He found it so fascinating how it was possible but he figured it was a public school thing. Or perhaps it was just a Sokka thing.

_/I'm sure my uncle would love to see your brother kissing me and he would probably take a picture of the moment and tease me about it for years. /_

He could hear Katara laughing as he saw she was typing out her response to him and he even chuckled a little bit but hid it as a cough. The last thing he needed was his uncle knowing that Katara could make him laugh and for the man to tease him about it endlessly.

_/If he did take a picture of that, I want a copy of my own. XD I totally would blackmail my brother with it to do my bidding! /_

Sokka would probably do her bidding if she had a picture of a moment like that. Of course he would also do her bidding to make sure it never saw the light of day. The last thing he needed was for a photo like that to reach _The Family_. He cringed at the thought of them seeing anything related to him. Sooner than what he expected, they were done and after a brief visit home, they went to the lovely house of Piandao. His house was like a huge antique, apparently one of his great-great-great grandfathers had built the house with his bare hands and it had somehow managed to stay in the family and still look just as magnificent as ever. The man greeted them warmly as the two entered the house and were given tea by the older butler named Fat.

Zuko simply listened to the conversation but contributed nothing to the conversation. Once Fat brought the sword Piandao wanted them to look at, Zuko was half tempted to keep the weapon for himself. The blade itself was made with meteorite and looked spectacular. The dark blade looked so sleek and elegant. Whoever made this blade must have worked very hard, it was a beautiful thing to behold and Zuko instantly knew that the Sokka would love a blade like that.

"The blade is dull which is a great thing since it's a decoration piece," Piandao explained, "As long as person you have in mind to give it to doesn't try to use it to fight, it should last for a very long time."

Iroh saw Zuko's reaction and had an idea what his nephew was thinking. He asked for the price but Piandao shook his head, explaining that he wasn't into exchanging money for things like this. He said he would trade for something he thought was of equal value. Zuko had forgotten that the weapons collector preferred to trade rather than exchange money. He didn't remember why but he knew it had something to do with some of the pieces in his collection to be considered priceless. He wasn't sure what the older man was going to ask of him but he already knew that he was going to do it. Iroh on the other hand, though he had previously forgotten about the trade, was one step ahead of all of them. He knew exactly what the other would love to trade for.

"I'll give you no charge on the Pai Sho tables at the Jasmine Dragon and throw in six months of unlimited tea refills, after you buy the initial cup of course," Iroh said smirking, "I have to make my money on you somehow but I'll charge you fifty percent less than I charge my other customers. Do we have a deal?"

Iroh stuck his hand out for the other to shake and Zuko simply stood there next to Fat as they both seemed to watch these men make a conversation with their eyes. The teen didn't think Piandao was going to take the deal, he was sure that he wouldn't have taken such a deal like that was. Still, he knew better than to voice his opinion on the matter due to the fact he wanted to get the sword for Sokka because—

He gulped and took in a very deep breath he didn't recall holding in the first place. Why did he want to get the sword in the first place? Sure Katara was such a nice girl but…was winning her brother over with a sword going to make some sort of difference? He wasn't too sure about that. He bit his lip as he thought about this more. It wouldn't be wise of him to even get in a relationship, especially since he's hiding from _The Family_… He just- ugh why was this so hard for him to think about? If he really felt the way he thought he did about Katara, he would do well to remember to keep her at a distance! He couldn't risk the idea of letting her get hurt because he didn't want her to get hurt. Not by them at least. They wouldn't spare her from seeing things he would prefer she would never see. He shivered at the thought of her being in their clutches. Being in _His_ clutches…

Piandao (in the meantime) nodded and shook Iroh's hand, "You, my friend, have yourself a deal only because you make the best tea in the entire city."

Uncle and nephew went home soon after that, the day was a bit tiring and Zuko hadn't heard from Katara since earlier. He wanted to text her again but he didn't want to disturb her at the same time. He frowned and decided he might as well get ready for bed. Very soon, he was in a deep sleep.

* * *

**September 19****th**

* * *

Though try as she might, she could not get Zuko to tell her what her brother's present was going to be. All she had gotten from him was a smirk and a 'you'll see' when she had asked. She didn't tell Sokka that Zuko was getting him anything but she kind of wanted to at the same time to make the usually suspicious male try to solve the mystery of the gift- wait that sounded silly. Never mind on telling her brother, considering he would be so happy to open a gift on his birthday. He hadn't gotten presents from anyone other than his close friends and family in a long time so why would she ruin that with her curiosity. She was going to know tomorrow anyway…

As for Katara's day, so far it was going as great as it possibly could be going. It was around that time and she and Yue were seeing a lot of each other. The two girls were working on routines for the winter showcase and for competition in January. They wanted it to be perfect if they were going to win the awards that would help give them some more of that school budget the sports teams usually got. They planned on getting things done with that money and nothing was going to stop them getting what they wanted done. Plus, competition season was one of Katara's favorite times as they got to see what all of the other schools with dance programs had to offer. What she also loved about it was how much of an ultimate test it was for the teams competing, if the team's technical skills weren't on point, it would be easily noticed and points would be deducted.

As scary as it would be for others to get on the stage and perform in front of hundreds of people, that wasn't what made Katara scared about the entire process. What got to her the most was the fear of one day looking in the crowed and Sokka looking grim instead of his usual 'cheering-louder-than-the-entire-auditorium' self. Her mother died when she was small and all she had in the world aside from her GranGran was her father. Her father was in the local police force and usually did undercover work to take down the really hardened criminals. Or at least that is what he did up until recently. One day he just came home and said he and his friend Bato were going deep sea fishing on a boat rather than being on the force. The money was helpful but she would give anything to have her dad back instead of the ocean. They got phone calls once in a while but it wasn't the same, she just missed her father more than anything in the world.

The rest of the day seemed to be going well, Jet was nowhere in sight and it was a bit odd for him to be missing for more than one day. Perhaps she should call him to ask how he was doing, sure they weren't dating anymore but that didn't mean that she still didn't talk to him. They did have a bet going on so they kind of did need to speak with each other rather than avoiding one another as if one of them was a leper.

After school practices were usually met with groans in their group. Sokka would rather go home and eat meat rather than stay for two extra hours of soccer practice. Katara felt the same way as she was practically starving by the time the end of school came around and still had dance practice. Toph seemed to not care since she had wrestling practice on Mondays and Aang had his vegetarian club he went to. Suki also had a sport this semester, volleyball, so she would stay and after practice they would all have some snacks before heading to their respective homes.

"Be sure to clear it up with your people about coming over tomorrow for my birthday!" Sokka reminded them all as they all went their separate ways.

Suki kissed her boyfriends cheek, "My dad already knows and he's pretty cool with it. So I'll see you there birthday boy."

"Don't worry Snoozles! I'll be there and since I'm picking up Twinkletoes, he's going too," Toph yelled loudly before getting into the car waiting for her.

Aang nodded with a bright grin, "Yeah don't worry Sokka. We'll all be there to see you get closer to being a real man."

All of the girls started laughing before Sokka could even respond so he and his sister just got in their car. Yue was not going to make it like she has originally planned due to Hann surprising her with tickets to the movies that Tuesday evening. She apologized and Sokka simply smiled and said it was okay, he understood, though he thought it was a low blow from her boyfriend. Hann knew that Sokka's party was tomorrow because he invited him the past Saturday and the creep still played stupid and decided to do something else. It worked for sure but what was the point of it working? Sokka had Suki and Yue actually liked that asshole boyfriend so why didn't Hann see that they were just friends? They both had come to realize this over time and were mutually okay with just being friends. Still, Hann just had to keep getting jealous and act like Sokka was going to take away Yue.

Katara saw her brother was getting frustrated over what was going on with everything and she did actually feel horrible about it. She was Yue's friend just as much as she was Sokka's sister. She couldn't help but feel as if she was caught in between of two people she cared so much about. Natually, if push came to shove, she would rather be Sokka's sister than Yue's friend because blood was thicker than water in their family. She knew her brother would be there for her no matter what and she would gladly be there for him in the exact same way. They had a bond and nothing, not even who they were dating, was ever going to change that. Sure her brother was mad about the whole bet on Zuko thing but he would defend her if need be.

"Do you smell that?!" Sokka asked loudly as they got out of their car when they made it to the house, "That's funny, GranGran said she would only make that if- it can't be!"

Katara saw her brother bolt to the house and she ran right after him. Her heart was pounding in her ears as they both opened the door and gasped at what they saw when they entered the house.

She was frozen at the door way for the longest time before she said, "Dad."

* * *

**Any thoughts you might have? TELL ME IN A REVIEW~!**

**The next chapter is in the works. I hope to get that out to you as soon as I can. I don't know my work schedule so that's kind of up in the air for me. But you will get it next week just probably not on Sunday like this time. I usually try to avoid Sunday updates but I'm open for a Monday update one of these weeks. **

**WE ARE JUST A FEW CHAPTERS AWAY FROM THE DANCE CHAPTERS! I'm thinking it's going to be about two or three chapters until the dance chapters. Yes, they are going to be chapters. I'm planning on two chapters of the dance scenes it could go up depending on things. I would like to have more details on the dance scenes than there are in my usual chapters. I know it might seem a bit rushed to you (it is to me) but remember Katara needs to date Zuko for three months so they kind of just need to rush into something without thinking about the consequences. Trust me, there will be consequences.**

**Anyway thank you for reading! Please review, I would love to hear from you. Have a great Monday and I'll see you all once again next week.**

**With Love,**

**SanguisRubeus**


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